Deception
by krystal lazuli
Summary: Thanos is dead, or is he? Someone is still gathering forces, aiming to attack Earth first and then Asgard seeking the Infinity Stones. Five stones have been found, and Loki and his wife hold them on Asgard. Who will find the last one? This is the sixth story in my Infinity series and this one is filled with Deception! (Warning: canon character death)
1. Chapter 1: Onset

**Author's Note: **_I cannot believe it has been over a year since I started writing these stories. Thanks to all the readers who continue to read and follow my tales of Loki, Thor, and all the others. _

Chapter 1: Onset

• _**Asgard**_**•**__

Loki woke up. His gaze wandered over to Katirya, who lay sleeping. She moaned softly in her sleep as she as she felt the warmth of his body disappear as he stood up and moved to the balcony overlooking Asgard. He watched as she pulled the covers back over her body.

He turned to gaze over the city. The sun was just beginning to rise, spreading its warm glow. His mind flashed back to that day a year ago, when they returned from Earth

"_What happened?" Sif shouted when she saw Loki carrying Katirya, blood gushing from a wound. _

"_Jane Foster," Loki snarled as he rushed towards the healers. _

_Thor followed on his heels. "Loki, I think you were rash back there."_

_"Rash?" Loki kicked open the door to the healers. "You call this rash? EIR!"_

_Eir rushed out and taking one look at Loki, directed him to one of the rooms. "In here, my King."_

_Loki laid an unconscious Katirya on the bed. "She was shot, with an arrow. Thor pulled it out, but…"_

_"I can see the wound," Eir said as she activated the Soul Forge. "It looks like it was clean, no poisons or anything. But…"_

_"But what?" Loki demanded, staring at the imagines the Soul Forge was projecting above his wife's body. _

"_Nothing, everything is fine. It missed the baby."_

"_Baby? She is pregnant? Why did she not say anything?" Loki shouted. _

"_I do not believe she knew yet," Eir replied as she pointed to a spot on the image. "Here"_

"_The baby is fine? Will Kiri be okay?" he asked impatiently. _

"_She will be fine. Let me just tend this wound. It missed everything vital," Eir pushed him gently away. "Go, sit outside for a few minutes."_

"_No, I will stay here until she awakens."_

_"As you wish," Eir began tending the wound, calling on her assistants for supplies. Thirty minutes later, she smiled at Loki. "There, all better. See?"_

_Loki inspected the wound, seeing it had been properly closed and dressed. "And the baby?"_

_"The baby…"_

"_Baby?" Katirya stirred. "I am pregnant again? What happened? Did I faint?"_

_"Do you not remember?" Loki asked her. _

_Katirya closed her eyes for a few moments. "Ah, yes. Now I recall. We went down to Earth." She started to sit up. _

"_No, be careful," Loki put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her forehead. "Rest. You need it."_

_Katirya lay back against the pillow. "I would prefer to rest in our bed, my love." She looked over at Eir. "Can you tell if it is a boy or a girl yet?"_

_"It is too soon, my lady. Perhaps next week," Eir replied. _

A touch on his arm brought him back to the present. He reached out and pulled his wife into his arms. "Good morning."

"Hmmm, what are you thinking?" Katirya asked him.

"Now, how did you know I was thinking?" he quipped.

"You are frowning." She reached up and traced the furrows on his brow. "See?"

He grabbed her fingers and kissed them lightly. "Well, I am not frowning now."

She smiled. "I see. But you were thinking."

"Yes, of that day we came back from Earth last year."

"Ah, _that _day. I still cannot believe that I missed him changing his target from you to me."

Loki snorted. "Right. There was so much going on that day, I doubt any of us would have seen it. He had his aim on me, the aliens were attacking... I still wonder what caused him to switch?" 

"Jane Foster," Katirya replied bluntly. "Did Thor return yet?"

"No," Loki sighed softly. "I still think we should have stayed out of it."

"Impossible. And you know it. If that army had defeated Earth…" she left the rest unsaid.

"I know, who knows where they would have gone next." He leaned over and kissed her. "And you insisted we send aid. Even after what they did to you."

Katirya sighed in pleasure. "Hmm? Oh, that? Forget it. And Thor managed quite well. I think it was for the best to send him. Now, kiss me again," she commanded.

"With pleasure," Loki responded.

**o~O~o**

"Honestly, Loki. Tony has this marvelous new weapon that I think we can adapt to our technology. You must talk to him about it," Thor expounded as they were eating breakfast two days later.

"Well, I see you have spent your time well on Earth this time," Loki replied. "Perhaps we can look into it."

"No, you have to go see it," Thor insisted. "Tony _wants_ you to see it."

Katirya entered the room carrying their youngest daughter Runa. The twins and Kai trailed her closely. Loki rose and pulled a chair out for his wife. "And how is my charming wife this fine morning?"

"Wonderful." She placed Runa in a small bed adjacent to their table and then took her seat. Once the children were seated, she smiled up at her husband and patted his seat. "Sit, my love. Now, how are the eggs?"

"Excellent!" Loki exclaimed as he resumed his seat. "Thor was just telling me I must go down to Earth and see some fancy new weapon Stark has created."

"Hmmm, haven't we been invited to some event coming up?" Katirya asked as her plate was set in front of her."

"Yes, we have." Loki frowned at the heaping plate. "Eating a lot, aren't we?"

Katirya laughed. "Yes. Runa eats as much as the twins did together! I can barely keep up with her. Now, about this new weapon, why don't you go see it?"

"Well, you and I have never exactly been on good terms with Stark and his friends to begin with, and…"

"Forget about what happened last year. I told you, Barton was not at fault. And quite frankly, neither was Jane," Katirya had noticed Thor's uncomfortable look when the topic was broached.

"Jane was…" Thor began.

"Not herself. We have gone over this before. She is not in her right mind through no fault of her own. I do not blame her, and Barton only reacted to what was happening," Katirya stopped him before he continue his litany of excuses. "Thor, I have told you, it is not your fault either. We do not know why Thanos chose her, but he did. Now, until she is willing to see me, to see if I can help her, we cannot do anything for her."

"So all the more reason I should not go to Earth," Loki interjected.

"But Tony _wants _you to see this," Thor said.

"Are you certain?" Loki asked his brother.

"I am. He specifically asked me to bring you back."

Loki looked at Katirya. "What do you think?"

"Go. Tony Stark seems to be willing to make amends," Katirya said. "I can forgive them, can you not?"

Loki sighed. "I suppose, if you insist. Personally I prefer to remain here."

"I am certain. Like I said, it appears they are trying to make amends for their actions. This invitation is proof of that, plus we agreed to go to that event in two weeks, did we not?" Katirya replied.

"Then I shall go," Loki said reluctantly.

"Excellent! We shall be back before supper!" Thor grinned.

_**~œ~ Earth ~œ~**_

"What do you think?" Tony asked as he watched Loki handle the new weapon.

Loki lifted one eyebrow. "Intriguing, and I believe Thor is correct. If we adapt this to our technology it would be even more powerful."

Stark grinned from ear to ear. "We'll crush those aliens!"

Loki sighed. "Perhaps. We still need to figure out who is behind all this. The attacks on Earth have been minor from what my brother tells me. Heimdall has indicated there is a huge gathering of forces in the Dark Nebula."

"Minor? You call those attacks minor? They took out half of Iowa, not that Iowa is important in the grand scheme of things. I wonder why they chose that place though? Mostly cows and cornfields," Stark rambled on. "So who are these new forces? Any worse than the cow killers?"

"Skrulls, Dire Wraiths, and any Chitauri who are still alive are joining every day," Thor added. "Earth is bound to be their primary target. If we can get these weapons ready in time, they will be in for a big surprise."

"Why Earth?" Stark asked. "Why not Asgard instead?"

"You are inferior," Loki replied.

"Inferior?" Stark snapped. "We're ready for these creeps! Send them on!"

"Sir?" Jarvis interrupted. "The others have arrived."

"Others?" Loki asked.

"The other Avengers. You know, Barton, Natasha, those guys," Tony answered. "I, uh, think it might be wise if they don't find you here right now. Sorry, pal. I know I invited you down here, but Barton is still kinda mad at you."

"Mad? At me?" Loki's eyebrow crept upwards. "Why is that? I am not the one who attacked Katirya."

"Well, you did kinda knock his socks off that day. He's not quite gotten over that, despite what your brother keeps telling him."

"Then, I suppose I shall leave. Thor? Are you returning as well?" Loki asked his brother.

"I will be back before supper. I want to speak further with Dr. Banner about my idea." Thor looked at Stark. "If that is acceptable with you?"

Tony shrugged. "Hey, I don't care what you do. Just figure out a way to make these things more powerful and I'm fine. I've done all I can, I think."

Loki looked at him curiously. "You think? You mean you are not sure?"

"Well, what I meant is, with what I have available here. From what Thor tells me, if I had access to say, your technology, I bet I could do a lot more. And if I could bring along Erik Selvig and Dr. Banner… well," he grinned cheekily at Loki. "The possibilities are endless."

"Indeed?" Loki looked back at his brother. "Then bring them along for dinner as well. I shall inform Kiri to expect guests."

"Oh, no! I didn't mean today. I still have a few bugs to work out on these. After our New Year's bash. Okay?" Stark spoke up quickly, stalling his visit to Asgard.

"If you insist. Now, if you will excuse me," Loki turned and disappeared.

"Damn, how does he do that?" Stark asked.

Thor laughed. "You will have to ask him that one."

**Author's note: **_A year ago I started writing what I thought was going to be a simple story, 10-20 chapters or so. Alliance was the first story in what has become a series. This is the sixth story in that series. If you are new to my stories, I suggest starting with Alliance. There are also several one-shots that have been written that contain many of these characters. And, I have not gotten through the outline I created, so expect more to come!_

_These stories are all my creations based on some things that captured my attention while watching "Thor: The Dark World". It is my story of what happened after the movie ended. I have no intentions of linking these stories to any new movies that may come out (e.g. "Thor 3" or any Avengers movies). It is my fanfiction, and I write it because I enjoy writing it. I hope you enjoy reading it as well. _


	2. Chapter 2: Trust

Chapter 2: ?

• _**Asgard**_**•**__

"So Stark still wants to come to Asgard?" Loki asked Thor as they walked through the palace. Several weeks had passed since he had traveled to Earth to view Stark's new weapon.

"Yes, he does. I think it is a good idea. His concept, that new weapon, could be combined with our technology to create a weapon more advanced than anything we know. Stark is a genius, and the best man to do it," Thor said excitedly.

Loki nodded. "Then bring him up."

"Excellent, I shall go down shortly and inform him of your decision. Do we know any more about who is behind these latest attacks?" Thor asked, referencing a series of minor attacks against Earth over the past few months.

"No, we do not," Loki replied. "Neither Heimdall nor Kiri has a clue, yet they feel that whoever is behind these attacks is far stronger than any we have faced yet."

"Their attacks on Earth have been trifling ones, more annoying than anything else. If they are as powerful as that, why have they not been more forceful? Why bother being annoying? Fury seems to believe that since the Avengers have been able to repel them easily, that our projections are off." Thor brought up the point of contention that had cropped up during his latest meeting on Earth.

"Is that what they believe?" Loki asked.

"Yes. I have tried to explain their misconceptions, but they refuse to listen given the attacks. We both know better. What we saw last year, when Thanos…" Thor's voice trailed off as he recalled the episode over a year ago.

Loki nodded. "Yes, we did see a massive army. I wonder where they all went?"

Thor shrugged. "They are well hidden; that much is certain."

"The meeting did not go well then?" Loki asked, referring to Thor's recent visit to Earth.

"Well, it was interesting. The fact they are not concerned about this enemy worries me. They are developing a good plan, but Stark …"

"But Stark what?"

"He is overconfident, I fear. Even without this weapon he is working on, I think he believes we are stronger than the Other's army," Thor admitted.

"What do you think?" Loki asked him, curious about his brother's feelings.

"I do not know. The fact that our opponent remains hidden can mean any number of things. They might fear the fact we have five of the Infinity Stones, or that we have formed an alliance with Earth. I think they had originally planned to attack and take over Earth as a starting point." Thor looked directly at Loki.

Loki nodded, agreeing with his brother. "I, too, believe that. They used me, and if it had not been for you and your Avengers, they might have succeeded. I wish I knew who the Other was, the one behind Thanos."

"Jane still insists that Thanos is alive," Thor stated bluntly.

"Jane… really? I thought she was doing better."

"For the most part, but she does have periodic relapses. Of late, she has been rather stable. You saw her at the New Year's party, she seemed almost normal; like the woman I first met. She has finally stopped insisting she knows the location of the last Infinity Stone."

Loki stopped walking and looked carefully at his brother. "You are not reconsidering your choice, are you?"

"No," Thor sighed. "My place is here."

"What of the others? Are they willing to work with Kiri? With me?" Loki asked.

"That… that was another of the issues. There are several who still feel you should be in prison," Thor stated bluntly. "They cannot believe you are King of Asgard. They may not follow your orders, but they will not go against you, mainly because of me."

"That is not enough," Loki shook his head. "If we are to win this war, we must all be working together. Kiri has forgiven them, as have I. What is their problem?"

"Well…" Thor hesitated.

Loki closed his eyes. "Then I think it unwise then to bring Stark here. Until they are all willing to work with us."

"Loki! No! We need to work with Stark. That weapon might make the difference."

"Then they need to work with us. There is no middle ground here, brother. I need to be able to trust them, not continually worry that they will turn on us like they did last year." He frowned, recalling when Barton had attacked Katirya.

Thor closed his eyes for a moment. "I will explain to them…"

"Explain to them? What have you been doing when you attend these meetings and fight their battles? Do they not understand that Asgard is there to protect them?" Loki demanded.

"Loki, you have to understand. What you did, on Earth…"

"I know what I did!" Loki snapped. "If they are going to continue to focus solely on that, then we cannot help them. I only permitted you to aid them last year because Kiri insisted."

"Loki, it's just…"

"Just what?" Loki resumed walking.

Thor remained standing where he was a few seconds, then caught up with his brother. "Loki, please. You have to understand."

"Understand what? They obviously do not trust me. I believe I may have been wrong to permit you to aid them this past year."

They turned a corner, heading towards their living quarters. Their footsteps tapped a staccato rhythm as they continued through the hallways. Thor noted that guards snapped to attention as they passed. Just before they reached Loki's chambers, three servants appeared. The ladies bowed their heads. "Good day, my King," one said quietly.

Thor was quick to note the respect the people of Asgard now gave Loki. His mind skipped back to the early days of Loki's rule. Things had not been quite the same. Even the Warriors Three had openly ignored their King, deferring to Thor instead.

Two guards moved to open the doors to Loki's chambers as he approached. Katirya looked up from the floor where she was playing with their children as the brothers entered. "What is wrong, my love?"

Loki's frown changed to a broad smile. "Well, this sight alone would bring happiness to any man." He reached down, offering her a hand so she could stand up.

Katirya smiled as she handed Aud one of her dolls, then stood up. Sverre started to cry. "You, little man, are overtired. Maybe next time you will take your nap as I ask."

"I don't have to take a nap, right mom?" Kai chirped.

Loki leaned over and tousled his eldest son's hair. "No, you are quite grown. I think it is almost time you started training."

"Really?" Kai jumped up and raced across the room. Grabbing one of his toy swords, he began brandishing it at some imaginary enemy. "See! I will beat them all!"

"And all shall fear the mighty Kai!" Katirya proclaimed. "But… I do think you need some quiet time if you do not wish to take a nap."

"Mom…" Kai frowned, then realizing he would win in any arguments with his mother, he set his sword down and nodded. "I guess I can do that."

"Now, would be a good time. I hope Sverre will finally take that nap," Katirya motioned for the three servants who were assisting her to take the children out.

"Where is Runa?" Thor asked.

"Sleeping. That baby is so good. I almost wonder if she is not a changeling," Katirya grinned. "Now, what is the problem? Perhaps I can help."

Thor quickly explained the situation.

"Hmm," Katirya murmured. "That is an issue. I wondered if it might not become a problem. And Jane? What does she say?"

"Jane," Thor paused. "Well, Jane is doing better. Her mind seems to be finally settling down somewhat. She was quite happy at the party, and she has finally stopped insisting that she knows where the last Infinity Stone is."

"Unfortunately, she is part of the problem. She is a mortal, like them. They are more inclined to listen to her, not us," Katirya said. "So, we need to convince them that first, they must get over the past. Perhaps then they might believe the threat."

"Yes, but how do we accomplish that?" Thor asked. "They only recall the attack on New York, and, to be honest, when you and Loki were seeking that one Stone…"

Katirya rolled her eyes. "Really? That too?"

"Well, you did a bit of damage to one of Fury's helijets, and then there was that incident in Las Vegas," Thor grinned as he reminded her of those misadventures.

Katirya thought for several moments, tapping her toe in exasperation.

"Perhaps…" Thor recalled what he had just seen in the hallway. "Perhaps if we bring them all up here."

"ALL of them?" Loki looked at his brother as if he were crazy. "All of your Avengers?"

"Yes, I think if they were to see you here, see how the people of Asgard respect you, they might be more willing to accept you."

Katirya stared at Thor. "I like it. I think it might just work. We have Runa's naming celebration coming up; we can return the favor since they invited us to their New Year's Eve event."

"Runa's naming celebration? It would be rather grand," Loki nodded, beginning to see the value of the opportunity.

"Yes! Excellent!" Thor exclaimed. "They will see both of you in a different light. Most of the mortal kings and queens are just figureheads from what I have learned of their culture."

"They do not lead?" Loki looked at his brother curiously. "How odd. What is the point?"

Thor shrugged. "I honestly do not know, but I believe that is how they consider you. This would clearly demonstrate the differences in our worlds."

"One would think they might understand that already, but…" Loki sighed. "It does sound like a good idea."

"What is a good idea?" Frigga asked, overhearing the latter part of Loki's comment as she entered the room.

Katirya quickly filled her in.

"I like that," Frigga looked at her youngest son. "I am so proud of the man you have become, and the daughter you have given me along with the grandchildren."

"Twelve," Loki said, a twinkle in his eyes as he smiled at Katirya.

Frigga laughed. "Twelve, is it? And Kiri, you are accepting this?"

"I suppose so," Katirya said. "He keeps insisting on twelve. I do not know why this number."

Loki leaned over his wife and whispered in her ear. "I shall explain tonight, when we are alone." Straightening up, he looked at Thor. "If you would be so kind as to extend the invitation then."

"Delighted! And Stark? Can he come up sooner since the celebration is not until next week? Unless you wish all of them up here now," Thor asked.

"No! Not all of them," Loki was quick to counter.

"But Stark?"

"Yes, yes. Bring him and his toy up here," Loki relented.

"It can be a dangerous toy," Thor replied.

"Let us hope so." Loki reached the door to his chambers. He turned to look at his brother. "When can we expect him?"

"I shall leave at once. I can be back by dinner!" Thor whirled to leave.

"Wait!" Loki called after him.

Thor turned to look at him. "Yes?"

"Never mind. Dinner it is. I suppose he will bring his wife, Pepper?" Loki asked.

"Well, they are not exactly married, but I imagine he will. She runs his company now," Thor replied.

"I shall see that a set of rooms is prepared at once," Katirya called after Thor's retreating back. She looked over at Loki. "He is rather excited to get back. Is it Jane still?"

Loki shook his head. "No, I think not. I think these Avengers, his friends, are the primary reason. We shall see though. I wonder if Jane will come to the celebration though."

"We will manage if she does," Katirya assured him.


	3. Chapter 3: Pretty in Pink

Chapter 3: Pretty in Pink

Thor clapped Tony Stark on the back. "Excellent, my friend. I think this will work."

"At least against some of these aliens." Stark lifted an odd shaped gun from the worktable and inspected it closely. "Shall we go try it out?"

"Well, we have an hour before the others arrive, so why not? We can report to Fury then if it is a viable weapon. How many can you make?" Thor asked as he headed towards the door. He held it open as Stark hefted the weapon and headed out.

"Well, I can manufacture thousands of the basic weapon. It's these extras we've added. That took, what? Four – five days?" Stark frowned.

"I believe we can speed that process up now that we know what needs to be done. Remember, we had a few refinements that were causing issues and had to be removed."

"True, but it still is going to be time-consuming to do this. It will have to be done individually for each one, but I think we can at least outfit all the Avengers with it," he grinned at Thor. "Now, let's go test this baby out."

They walked in companionable silence outside, stopping by the kitchens to pick up a sack of flour. Once outdoors, they set up their 'flour dummy' and walked about two hundred yards away.

Tony hefted the gun-like weapon up, aim and shot the dummy. It glowed brightly pink for three seconds then was gone - or almost gone. A small pile of pink goo remained in the spot where the flour dummy had been.

"Impressive." Loki's voice sounded behind them. "I like it."

Thor turned and grinned at his brother. Loki was standing with his arms crossed in front of him, staring at the result of their test.

"But why pink?" Loki asked, frowning at the odd colored goo.

Stark laughed. "Yeah, I know. Can't figure that one out, but it always turns the object pink."

"Well, as long as it works," Loki replied.

"Oh, it works all right. Just wish we could make these faster. I should be able to adapt at least one for each of the team, but that's about it." Stark shook his head. "Takes too long. There has to be a faster way."

"Perhaps Dr. Banner or Fury might be able to figure that out. They will be arriving soon," Thor said.

"Banner, maybe. Fury, you've got to be kidding me, right?" Stark stared at Thor as if he had just grown two heads. "Haven't you figured that guy out yet? He will want total control over this thing, from start to finish."

"Well, perhaps he can adjust the color then," Loki remarked with a smirk.

"Right. What color do you want them? Green?" Stark asked sarcastically.

Loki shrugged. "Do you think perhaps it has something to do with what you are using for a target?"

"Hard to say, all we've used is flour sacks from the kitchen," Stark replied.

"So we can expect to be short of bread for the feast then?" Loki asked.

"Hey, it's about the only thing I could find that is about the right size. That last group that attacked were small, like those flour sacks." Stark held his arm out, indicating the height of the recent attackers. "They keep getting smaller. I don't know why you guys are so worried."

"If you had seen what we saw," Thor began.

"Right, right… they captured you both, and yet you somehow managed to escape. I've heard the story several times," Stark cut him off.

Thor and Loki exchanged a glance.

"Well, if you are finished with your tests, I suggest you get ready for the celebration tonight," Loki finally said.

"You know, I don't get you guys. You act like we are up against some horrible alien race. Everything I've seen has been containable, even those monster creatures you brought down to Earth." Stark pointed at Loki. "Maybe they are too much for your armies, but we can take care of ourselves. You saw that for yourself."

"That was just the beginning. You know nothing, but then, what can we expect? How many worlds have you traveled to?" Loki asked.

"Hey, man. I don't need to travel to any worlds to know what we can and cannot do. We've not had a serious threat since you left, and you couldn't even manage to take over New York!" Stark crowed.

"Perhaps we should simply leave you alone," Loki said.

"Loki, no," Thor interjected. "We both know what we are up against."

"Do we?" Loki asked pointedly. "Now, if you will excuse me, I must get ready."

Thor watched as his brother walked away before finally bringing the subject back up with Stark. "He is correct, you know. You have no clue what the Other can throw at us. We do not even know the full extent of his army or his powers."

"Well, then it's a good thing I'm here to help you. Isn't it?" Stark hefted his weapon and turned towards the palace.

**~o~0~o~**

The portal opened, permitting the travelers to exit into the Bifrost chambers.

"Wow! That was, like freaking crazy!" Barton exclaimed as he walked into the chamber.

Natasha grinned. "Yeah, it was kinda cool."

"Welcome to Asgard," Heimdall's voice resounded throughout the chamber.

"Whoa, who are you?" Steve Rogers asked.

"I am Heimdall, guardian of Asgard," the tall god replied.

"And he's Sif's brother." Fandral grinned in greeting. "Welcome to Asgard. I am Fandral, and the King has sent me to escort you to the city." He glanced at the group, noticing the absence of Jane and her friends. "Is this everyone?"

"No, Jane and the others are coming later," Fury replied.

"Excellent! That allows us a little time to give you a tour of Asgard. Come along." Fandral gestured towards the doorway.

The group followed him outside to discover a small open aircraft waiting for them.

"Is this safe?" Rogers asked, with a quick glance at Banner.

"I will be fine," Banner was quick to reassure him. He glanced out over the view of the city. "A tour, eh? Sounds fun. We just ride around on this?"

"Yes," Fandral hopped aboard, waving them to join him on the ship. "Should be room for all of you. I brought one of the larger ones. We figured this would be the easiest method to get you all to the city. And since we have a bit of time, I can show you a bit of our world."

Banner nodded his head as he stepped into the ship. "Sounds like fun, I guess."

The others followed him, and once everyone was seated, Fandral guided the ship away from the Bifrost chamber. They flew over the rivers and streams that emptied off into space beyond the Bifrost.

Natasha looked at the passing scenery. "This place is beautiful!"

Fandral grinned at her. "I am delighted that you agree with us. Asgard is indeed a wonderful place." He pointed off towards the city. "That is the main city, but we are surrounded by forests, rivers, and mountains."

"Where does the water go?" Fury asked.

"To the other realms," Fandral replied. "Although it is not a path one may take. You either use the Bifrost or one of the other avenues."

"So, there are other ways to travel between the realms? How many are there?" Natasha asked.

"I suggest you visit our library for that information. Or talk to Loki. He can explain it better than I as he is the expert on the other paths," Fandral grinned as he recalled a previous experience on one of these ships with Loki.

"So, what exactly is this celebration for again?" Fury brought the conversation back to the reason for their visit.

"It is the naming celebration for the King's daughter," Fandral replied.

"Oh, a christening," Barton remarked.

"What precisely is a christening?" Fandral asked.

"We christen a ship with a name when it is launched," Fury answered bluntly.

Barton snickered.

"Well, Runa is no ship," Fandral replied, looking at Barton. "And I do not suggest you call her that, nor her mother. You might not like the consequences."

"Yeah, I can imagine. There is also a religious ceremony called christening too, sounds more like what this celebration is." Barton shot a quick look at Fury before continuing. "So, who are the King and Queen?" Barton asked.

Fandral looked at him oddly. "Loki and Katirya."

"Of all this?" Barton's eyes widened as he considered the scope of the city and lands surrounding it.

"Of all this, and much more," Fandral replied. "You did not know?" When Barton shook his head, he went on. "I am surprised they invited you, of all people to this ceremony, for Katirya almost lost the child after you attacked her last year."

Barton exchanged a quick look with Natasha. She shifted closer to him and whispered quietly. "This might be awkward."

"You think?" Barton replied, not keeping his voice down. He looked back at Fandral, challenging him. "I still don't get why Loki never was punished for his transgressions on Earth."

"He was punished. We all make mistakes, and hopefully learn from them. You cannot tell me that you have never made a mistake?" Fandral cocked his head to one side as he looked at Barton.

Barton shifted uncomfortably under the scrutiny. "I guess we all do, but most of us don't try to destroy an entire city, or rule a planet," he finally said.

"True, but you must realize, our world is very different from yours. I am not going to try to explain or apologize – it is not my place to do so. Loki has proven his worth as King of Asgard." Fandral paused. "And I will admit that I honestly never thought I would ever say that," he added.

"Why?" Natasha asked.

Fandral sighed. "Thor has always trusted his brother; it just took me longer to realize why. Katirya is part of the reason, but I finally see the real man he is."

"So you trust her too? I mean… I'm sorry, but after what's happened with Jane Foster…" Natasha's voice trailed off.

"Jane is not our fault. You cannot blame her condition on any of us. Look to the Other, the one we are at war with," Fandral quickly replied. He now understood what Loki meant when he said they did not understand what they were up against. "This is no lark. We still do not know the extent of the powers of the person behind all this. Whoever he is, we do know he is more powerful than Thanos."

"So it is true then, that Thanos is dead?" Natasha asked as they skimmed over several hills.

"Yes, he is dead."

"Hey! Who are all those people down there?" Natasha pointed out several large groups riding horses heading towards the city.

Fandral looked down and then grinned widely. "People coming to the celebration. Many of the leaders are attending. That is the Lady Sif is with that group. They are from Cartherion, Katirya's homeland. Her brother is amongst them." He pointed out one group, then steered the ship towards the group.

Flying lower, he waved at Sif. She looked up, and once she saw who was at the helm of the ship, she waved enthusiastically back.

"So this is some kind of big deal then?" Fury asked.

"Indeed, it is. It has been many years since we have had cause for such a celebration." Fandral smiled, guiding the ship to the base of one of the mountains.

"Wow!" Natasha shouted in joy as the ship swept up the slope. When they reached the peak, Fandral gently turned the ship back towards the city. "Why has it been many years?" She finally asked.

Fandral chuckled. "The King's children are the first in over a thousand years. The last celebrations were for Thor and Loki. It is not often an heir to the throne is born. This child is fourth in line to the throne now."

Barton's jaw dropped. "Wait? You're saying they are like, a thousand years old?"

Fandral nodded. "Now, we shall head towards the city. You will desire some time to get ready."

The group all shifted uncomfortably. Finally, Natasha spoke up. "Do we need to dress up? We didn't exactly bring much luggage with us."

"That is entirely up to you. Everyone dresses to reflect his or her position. You are all warriors, correct?" Fandral watched as they all nodded. "Then you are dressed appropriately. However, should you wish to wear something else, I believe Darcy and the others ought to have arrived by now and might be able to assist. Again, that is entirely up to you."

Fandral guided the ship to the edge of the city and set it down gently. Releasing a lever, a small ramp appeared, permitting them to disembark easily. Once they were all down, he saluted them as he raised the ramp and took off with the ship.

"Ok, that's just weird. So what do we do? Stand here and wait?" Natasha said as she watched the ship take off.

"Well, we could walk towards the city. It appears there is a door there," Rogers pointed one out.

"Better than just standing here," Fury stated.

As they walked towards the city, they saw the door open, and a figure appeared. They couldn't identify the person yet, but at least they had some semblance of a welcome.

"So, Barton, do you think you will apologize?" Natasha jabbed him in the ribs.

"For what? I only reacted to what was going on. If the _king _doesn't like it, oh well," he growled. "I wonder, why _did _they invite us up here? Something seems fishy to me. I suggest we stay on our guard."

"Based on what that dude just said, I agree," Fury replied. "I _still_ don't trust Loki."

"Neither do I, sir," Rogers replied. "I find it difficult to believe he is the King. Thor is fine, but…" he left his sentence unfinished.

"I know what you mean, Steve. Wait? Isn't that Stark?" Banner asked, beginning to recognize the figure approaching them. He waved.

"About time you guys got here. What did you do? Take the fifty cent tour of the place?" Tony Stark greeted them as he got closer.

"Actually, we did. That dude that met us took us on a tour. We saw several large groups of people riding towards the city." Barton noticed the weapon Stark was carrying. "Is that it? Does it work?"

"Oh, man, does it work!" Tony exclaimed. "Just one minor glitch, but I can live with it, unless you can figure it out Banner?"

"What is the, um, _glitch_?" Banner replied.

"Turns everything to pink goo. I'd prefer a more manly color, but pink works," Stark laughed.

"Pink goo?" Natasha stared at the weapon.

"Sure! Watch!" Tony pointed it towards a small shrub about fifty yards away. Firing at it, the bush burst into flames the instant it was hit. It burned for twenty seconds, and then everything disappeared except for a small pile of the pink goo he'd referred to.

"Weird," Natasha walked towards the remnants of the shrub. "So does it always do this?"

"Damn! Never burst into flames before." Stark was inspecting the weapon closely. "Of course, I never tried it on a bush before. Maybe that is it. But, yeah. Pink goo is what it produces. Banner? We have some time before this shindig begins. After I take you to your rooms, mind looking this over with me?"

"Sure, why not?" Banner replied.


	4. Chapter 4: Expectations

Chapter 4: Expectations

"Well, I have to say, the welcome party here wasn't so welcoming," Fury remarked as they walked towards the palace.

"Well, it has been a bit crazy here getting ready for this celebration," Stark replied. He tossed the weapon over his shoulder as he continued walking. He reached out with his free hand towards the door when it swung open, and Thor burst out.

"My friends!" Thor exclaimed as he saw the Avengers about to enter. "I apologize for my tardiness. I was detained with some minor issues. When I saw Fandral returning, I realized I needed to find you at once."

"Hey, don't worry. Stark was showing us his new weapon, so it worked out," Natasha reassured him.

"Fandral said he took you on a short tour of some of the surrounding areas. Did you enjoy it?" Thor asked.

"It is rather beautiful, plus we saw quite a few groups heading towards Asgard. Is that why you were late?" Banner asked.

Thor nodded. "Yes, we have had many representatives arriving every day in anticipation of this celebration. It is quite an honor to see the people coming together. I fear war will soon be upon us and the more allies we can claim, the better our chances shall be."

"War?" Barton looked at him. "So you really think there's going to be a war?"

"It is inevitable," Thor replied gravely. "What we have seen so far, on Earth, is just the beginning."

Loki entered his chambers and looked around. He could hear the children playing in the nursery. His gaze finally settled on the one person he was looking for – Katirya. She was standing on the balcony overlooking the city.

He smiled and crossed over to her. Stepping behind her, he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Katirya pressed back into him, sighing softly. "I love this view. I will never tire of looking at it."

"I quite agree," he said kissing the top of her head.

Katirya twisted her head and discovered he was looking down at her, not out at the city. She laughed softly. "That is good to know since you are stuck with me for quite a long time."

"Hmm, that sounds delightful," he murmured in her ear.

"What brings you up here so early?" she asked as he started to nuzzle her earlobe.

"Do I need a reason other than you?"

Katirya laughed. "Hardly. But we do have guests arriving and a celebration to attend."

"They can wait," he said.

A loud sound from the city below interrupted Loki and Katirya. The two leaned over the railing, staring down into the open area where Fandral had deposited the party from Earth. A shrub was on fire.

"Oh, it is just Stark and his new toy," Loki said.

"That _toy _concerns me. How do we know he won't turn it on us? Can we stop it?" Katirya asked.

"Excellent question. We shall have to speak to Thor about that. Speaking of my brother," Loki peered back down at the group. "Where is he? Wasn't he planning on greeting them?"

"Oh, I do hope my errand did not hold him up," Katirya replied.

"Errand?" Loki turned Katirya around to face him.

"Yes, I asked him to stop by the kitchens and check on the food. I was not entirely sure what might appeal to the humans, so I figured he would know best," Katirya explained. "I rather liked that drink they served at that New Year's gala… champagne, wasn't that it?" When Loki nodded, she went on. "I asked him to bring some back the last time he went to Earth, but I was not certain what dishes would complement it."

"Ah, well, it appears he has finally made it," Loki pointed to a flash of red exiting the palace.

"Excellent," Katirya replied, not bothering to look. She put her arms up on his shoulders. "He can deal with them for now."

Loki took advantage of the moment and kissed her.

"Ahem." A voice sounded behind him.

Loki sighed heavily. "Now what?" he whispered quietly.

"Fandral," Katirya replied with a giggle. "Remember? You asked him to report when he returned?"

"So I did," Loki released her and they turned to face Fandral.

"I am sorry to interrupt…" Fandral's eyes twinkled merrily, knowing full well what he had interrupted.

"No, do not worry. We can always finish later." Loki guided Katirya to the table, gesturing for Fandral to join them. As he waited for Fandral to sit, he poured a glass of wine for each of them. "Now, what did you learn?"

"The mortals…" Fandral paused, searching for the proper words to explain his feelings about them. "They are confused, I believe."

"Confused?" Katirya asked.

"I do not believe they understand why they were invited here. I mean, I know you want them to understand things from our perspective, and the celebration is a perfect opportunity, but I suspect they feel there is an underlying reason," Fandral explained.

Loki and Katirya exchanged a quick glance.

"Interesting," Loki replied. "I was under the impression from Stark that he desired an alliance between us. At least, that was my understanding from his comments at his gala event. Thor has been working towards this the past year. I wonder why they suspect more?"

"Perhaps Jane Foster has something to do with it," Katirya suggested. "Is she still coming?"

"I believe so. They indicated that Jane and the others would be arriving later," Fandral said. "But…"

"But what?" Loki asked when Fandral hesitated.

Fandral shifted uncomfortably in his seat, then took a sip of his wine before going on. "It's you, my King. They do not understand how or why you are King. They have no clue what it means, even after our short tour. We were able to observe the many parties arriving in Asgard for the ceremony, but it seemed to not make any impression upon them. I fear they will not understand."

A knock sounded at the door.

"Come in!" Loki shouted.

The door opened, and Hela walked in. "Greetings! I hope you do not mind, but I just had to come for the celebration. After all, I might have had some part in this."

Katirya laughed. "You are most welcome, Hela. Do join us, would you like some wine?"

"Please." Hela sighed as she settled into a seat. "It is so nice to be able to leave Hel once in a while." Her gaze traveled over to Fandral. "You are looking quite good…"

"Hela," Loki said warningly.

Fandral grinned, enjoying her attention.

"So, has everyone arrived? I saw Thor out with some of those tedious mortals. Did that insipid one he dotes upon come?" Hela asked as he lifted her glass of wine. Swirling it for a moment, she took a sip. "Asgard always did have excellent cellars."

"Jane Foster is supposed to be coming, but she just has yet to arrive," Loki replied, answering her question.

Hela rolled her eyes. "Honestly, I do not understand what Thor see in her, especially when he could have someone like me. Even Lady Sif would be better!"

Katirya struggled to hold back a laugh.

"See!" Hela exclaimed. "Even your wife agrees. Speaking of Thor, where is he?"

"With the other Avengers," Loki replied.

"Avengers? Really? What kind of name is that? Who are they trying to impress?" Hela shook her head. "Mortals."

Fandral laughed. "She is right. That name, the Avengers, it makes them sound like they are out to punish someone. Why would they choose a name like that?"

"Well, judging from the weapon Stark has created, they are out to do something. It is rather interesting; destroys the target and leaves behind a pile, or rather puddle, of pink goo," Loki replied.

"Weapons, technology…" Hela's hands flew around as she spoke. "When it is all said and done, they will die long before us. Yet they are…"

"Cocky perhaps?" Lorelei entered the room.

"How did you get here?" Fandral asked in surprise. "I thought you were sent to Jotunheim."

"I invited her," Loki replied.

"Yes," Lorelei purred as she sat down next to Fandral. "He thought I might be, ah, helpful with the mortals."

"Cocky?" Loki looked at Lorelei. "What do you think Fandral? You've been with them all afternoon."

Fandral nodded his head. "Yes, that is a good description. They seem to believe they are infallible. Rather brash."

"And over-confident," Katirya added. "Look at Stark and that new weapon of his. They simply do not have a clue what they are going to be up against. But at least he did seem to be willing to work with us, although I get the feeling that he thinks they can overcome anything even without our aid."

"Considering they have been successful this past year, I can see why they believe that," Loki said.

"But they did have Thor's help," Katirya pointed out.

"And they are Thor's friends," Frigga entered the room, overhearing the latter part of the conversation. "I agree though. They are over-confident." She looked at Katirya and Loki. "Have either of you seen into their thoughts yet?"

Both shook their heads. "No," Katirya replied. "It is not a pleasant experience; their thoughts are so jumbled, disorganized."

"So, what are your plans?" Frigga asked.

Loki shrugged. "We invited them here so that they might come to understand what Asgard truly stands for, what Thor's role is in all this, as well as ours."

Frigga nodded. "The ceremony was a good choice then. With so many of the worlds coming to pay their respects, the sheer numbers might be able to convince the mortals."

"I do hope so," Loki replied. "Otherwise, if they continue to refuse our aid…" He shrugged leaving the rest unsaid.

"I don't get why I have to go. I just don't want to." Jane stood on the patio with her hands on her hips.

"Jane, we've gone through all this before," Erik said. "You agreed to go. Thor expects you to be there for him."

"He's a grown man, he can take care of himself," Jane whined unhappily. She started pacing back and forth across the patio.

"Jane, really. I guess if you don't want to go, you don't have to," Darcy said. "But the rest of us are going. Will you be all right here? Alone?"

"I will be fine. What could happen to me?" Jane stopped pacing to reply.

"Well… those creatures might come back and capture you," Ian finally said.

Jane closed her eyes. "I suppose you are right. But really, I have no desire to see those two and their baby, for some stupid celebration because they gave it a name. Honestly? What's the point?"

"It is part of their culture, Jane. Just like we have certain celebrations, like New Year's Eve. Remember, Tony Stark did invite them down for that. They were rather civil to everyone," Erik said.

"Fine, I'll go. But I am not going to pretend I am having a good time." Jane huffed into the house. "What do I have to wear?" she shouted out the window of her bedroom.

"I dunno. I suppose we can find something when we get there. They have such beautiful gowns," Darcy shouted back.

"I am NOT wearing one of their ridiculous outfits!"

"Fine, then pick out some lady clothes of your own and bring them. Maybe Thor..."

"I don't care about Thor anymore. Get that straight!" Jane shouted.


	5. Chapter 5: Unexpected

**Author's note: **_I do apologize for the delay in updating this story. I'm in the midst of a major course in my university program and there is a paper hanging over me. Took a break from working on it to finally write this chapter and get it out of my mind. Thanks for your patience. _

Chapter 5: Unexpected

Natasha entered the room and paused. "Well, they sure are trying to impress us," she muttered.

"I am sorry, my lady. The room displeases you?" a voice spoke from a corner.

Natasha whirled to face the voice, discovering a young woman standing there. "Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?"

"I apologize for startling you. My name is Yrsa, I was sent to assist you tonight," the auburn-haired woman replied. "I can see if another room is available, but with everyone arriving for the celebration, most of the better rooms are already assigned."

"Well, I don't need help getting ready," Natasha snapped. "I am perfectly capable of dressing myself."

"As you wish," Yrsa bowed. "I prepared a bath for you."

"A bath?" Natasha looked at Yrsa strangely. "I prefer showers."

Yrsa shrugged then walked over to one door opening it up. "In case you change your mind," she stepped away from the door allowing Natasha to look at the luxuriously appointed bathroom.

Natasha peered in at the in-ground bathtub that looked more like a small swimming pool. The scent of jasmine wafted out. "Uh, sure. Why not," she finally agreed. "But you're saying this room isn't the nicest?" She walked around inspecting the rest of her spacious room. It was lavish by her standards.

Yrsa shook her head. "No, it is not. If you wish, I can ask to see if there is something else."

"No. No, this is fine. I just thought they were trying to… never mind. About that bath, it might help me relax a bit," Natasha said.

"If you need help with anything else, please just ask. I will await you out here," Yrsa replied.

Natasha relaxed in the hot, jasmine scented water for a while. She rested her head against the edge of the tub, enjoying the rare quiet.

An hour later, she stepped out of the bath thoroughly refreshed. Picking up a robe that was sitting on a bench, she put it on then returned to her room. Her hair was still damp, and she was using one of the towels to dry it off. She spotted Yrsa laying out several outfits on the bed.

"What's all this?" Natasha inquired, noting all the dresses were black, and a pair of spike heels lay upon the floor. She grinned seeing those. Someone certainly knew her preferences.

"In case you wished something more festive for the celebration," Yrsa replied, pointing to the black, form-fitting outfit Natasha had been wearing when she arrived. "I can have that cleaned for you if you like."

"Sure, go ahead." Natasha tossed the towel back towards the bathroom as she moved to inspect the dresses. She picked one up, holding it against her body. "Someone sure knows my taste. Who picked these out?"

Yrsa laughed. "I believe the Queen. May I fix your hair?"

"Not much to fix," Natasha fluffed it up. "But, sure, go ahead." She sat down at the small dressing table, staring at herself in the mirror. "The Queen? Who exactly is she?"

Before Yrsa could respond, Natasha saw the door open behind her and another woman walk in. Natasha jumped up and whirled to face the newcomer. "Who the hell are you?"

A voluptuous redhead in a revealing dress flounced into the room. Walking to a chaise lounge, she artfully arranged herself upon it, and then answered Natasha. "Lorelei. And you are Lady Natasha, right?"

"I'm no lady," Natasha muttered.

"No? Then what are you?"

"An assassin. I kill people," Natasha replied bluntly. "That pretty much excludes me from being called a lady."

"Sif is a warrior, she kills people and we call her Lady Sif," Lorelei countered. "Warrior, assassin," she shrugged her shoulders. "Not much difference, is there?"

"Listen, I am one of the Avengers." 

"Ah, so you are an assassin that belongs to a group. Does that make it any different?" Lorelei pointed at the side table where a decanter of wine was set out with several glasses. Yrsa moved to pour her a glass, looking at Natasha, who shook her head.

"What's your point?"

"Call yourself what you wish, you still kill people. Does that make you bad?" Lorelei asked as she took a sip of the wine. "Hmmm, _not _the good stuff. Yrsa, could you find something better?" She held out the offending glass of wine.

Yrsa quickly took the glass and left the room.

"I work to protect Earth. Now, I ask again, what's your point?" Natasha repeated her question.

"No point, really. Just stopped by to say hello, you know, welcome you to Asgard and such," Lorelei replied.

"Well, you've said hello. Now, if you will excuse me, I guess I have to get ready for this celebration tonight," Natasha turned her back on Lorelei, sitting down once again at the dressing table.

Yrsa returned with a new bottle of wine. Offering a glass to Lorelei, she returned to arranging Natasha's hair.

"Much better," Lorelei said after she took a sip. "The celebration. Should be quite a grand event. Why did they invite you and your … what did you call it, avengers?"

"They are not _my _Avengers; we're a team. We belong to the Avengers. Thor is one of them. And I have no clue why they invited us unless they wanted to impress us… or something. Personally, I would rather have stayed on Earth and skipped this silly thing. A naming ceremony? Really?"

"It is rather a grand event; we do not have them often. You should be honored to have been invited," Lorelei chided her.

"Why? Aren't kids born all the time? What difference does this one make?" Natasha said.

"Well, Runa is fourth in line to the throne of Asgard. That alone sets her apart. Unless, of course, Thor decides he wants to be considered again for the position," Lorelei replied. "And speaking of Thor, the last royal naming ceremony was his and Loki's, who is now incidentally, the king. Of course, _that _was about 1,000 years ago or so."

"Right, you make kings out of psychopaths. I don't get that. Last time I saw _King _Loki, he was muzzled and handcuffed and not looking very kingly. Thor was going to bring him back here to _'punish'_ him. So… making him a king is punishment up here?" Natasha said snidely. Yrsa had finished with her hair. Looking briefly at it in the mirror, she grinned. "Looks nice." Standing up, she walked over to the sideboard and poured herself a glass of wine. "Are they trying to make us believe Loki is really a good guy?"

"Hmmm, clearly you do not understand our ways…"

"YOUR ways? Really? What is there to understand? The guy tried to take over our planet. I don't exactly call that a friendly visit. He destroyed half of New York while he was at it. Took us a year to clean it up. Then Fury mentioned Loki showed up again on Earth, and guess what? He stole a helijet and damaged another. What is there to understand other than you guys are plain crazy?" Natasha stared at Lorelei.

Lorelei laughed. "You know, I never thought I would say this…" she paused to take a sip of her wine, swirling it thoughtfully. "But Loki is a pretty good king. And like I was saying, you don't quite understand our ways. Earth is just a small part of a world. Asgard _is_ a world."

"Right, and Loki is King of it – whatever that means, but how can you have a criminal for a ruler? We don't make our criminals rulers. Why is he king and not Thor?" Natasha asked. "Shouldn't Loki be in prison?"

Lorelei threw her head back and laughed. "Well, if that's the case, I should be in prison too, but Katirya released me. She needed my help. Thor needed Loki's help. If he hadn't released him, Malekith might have destroyed your planet… or have you forgotten that part?"

"Thor stopped him. I didn't hear that Loki had anything to do with it. In fact, I heard he had died. Then he suddenly reappears as King of Asgard. Really?"

"Well," Lorelei looked slyly at Natasha. "You're saying your past is spotless? You've never made a mistake?"

"I never said that. And what does that have to do with this?" Natasha snapped.

"So you are saying that you can leave your past behind, but he cannot?"

"Listen, I don't know who you are or why you are here, but he's… he is evil. He tried to destroy Earth. You will never convince me that Loki is good. I saw him back on Earth, he…"

Lorelei interrupted her. "And you are better? Your past is pristine? Nothing to hide?"

"No, my past is not pristine, as you so obviously know. What difference does that make?" Natasha started pacing around the room.

"Something wrong?" Bruce Banner was standing in the door.

Lorelei's eyes raked over the physicist's body. "Hell-o. Nice of you to join us. Dr. Banner, right?"

Bruce looked from Natasha to Lorelei. "Is she bothering you?"

"Hey, Bruce. No, she just wandered in, trying to tell me that Loki is a good guy," Natasha waved him in.

"Loki and good do not belong in the same sentence," Bruce said.

Lorelei laughed. "That is what she is trying to tell me. You just do not understand. I think that is why you were invited up here…" she shrugged. "Then again, maybe not."

"Right. I'm betting they asked us up to and plan to kill us off," Natasha said.

"Seriously? If they had wanted you dead, why bother bringing you up here at all?" Lorelei pointed out.

"She has a point," Bruce agreed. "Stark seems to want to work with him; he's been up here working on that weapon. Perhaps they do want us to see that Loki has some redeeming qualities, although it will be hard to convince me."

"Or me," Natasha chimed in.

Lorelei laughed. "Well, all you perfect people might find you need to revise your thinking." She rose and walked over to Banner. "I like you, you have an interesting side to your personality, don't you?" She placed a hand on his shoulder. "I would love to meet the other one."

Banner shifted uncomfortably. "I do not think that would be a good idea."

"Oh, I think I could handle it… maybe later, after the party?" Lorelei whispered in his ear before she removed her hand. "Well, see you all at the celebration!" Lorelei waved at them and with a swish of her hips, she sashayed to the door. Before exiting, she turned to face them one last time, her eyes focusing on Banner. With a wink, she blew him a kiss. "See _you_ later." Then slipped out the door.

"Well, that was interesting."

"So who was she?" Bruce gestured towards Lorelei. "And what was that all about?"

"Said her name was Lorelei. Seems to like you," Natasha grinned at him.

"Well, the feeling isn't mutual." He glanced at the dress laid out on the bed. "Is that what you're wearing?"

"Yes." Natasha glanced around, realizing that Yrsa had disappeared. "I wonder where that girl went?"

"Girl?" Banner asked.

"Yeah, there was a servant here before you showed up. I…" she broke off speaking as Yrsa appeared carrying a small tray. A selection of fruits and cheeses were arranged upon it.

"My lady, I brought you a small repast. It will be rather late until the feast begins." Yrsa set it down on the small table in the room. "My lord, would you care for some wine?"

"Lord? Um, I'm not a lord. Just a doctor. I will take a pass on the wine. Do you have any water?" Banner replied.

"Certainly." Yrsa left the room, returning shortly with a glass of water. She handed it to Banner.

"Umm, if you don't mind, I'd like to get dressed now," Natasha spoke up.

"Oh, right." Banner looked around the room, "I'll just go…"

"There is a sitting room down the hall. You can wait there," Yrsa suggested.

"Good idea. I'll wait for you there."

"Why don't you go find the others? I think we need to talk before we go to this event."


	6. Chapter 6: Twisted

Chapter 6: Twisted

"Where did that come from?" Stark asked, staring at Pepper as she emerged from the bedroom dressed in pale yellow diamante silk dress. The single strap created an asymmetrical style top that was beaded on one side. Three thin beaded belts separated the top of the dress from the skirts. "That is not your usual style."

Pepper grinned. "Katirya brought it down to me. I like it, what do you think? She twirled once, allowing the skirt to float around her.

Stark grinned. "I like it." He poured her a glass of wine.

"That is what she thought," Pepper walked over and took the glass.

He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her close. "You look ravishing in it."

She smiled. "Thank you. Shall we go out and see if the others are ready?"

Stark kissed her. "If we must."

Pepper grinned and stepped out of his embrace. Taking a sip of the wine, she smiled. "We must."

Stark held out his arm, and Pepper hooked her arm through it. They headed out into the sitting room. Banner and Rogers were already seated out there. "Where are the others?"

"Barton is over there," Banner nodded his head toward a balcony that overlooked the city. "Checking things out. Not sure about Fury or Natasha."

"Well, they can't have gone far, unless they went with an escort. You can get lost in this city," Stark replied.

Fury chose that moment to enter, dressed in his usual black outfit. He glanced at the others, noting that the other men were all attired in black tuxedoes. "Tuxes? Really? I thought this was just a simple ceremony."

Stark shrugged. "Not really sure, but I definitely don't want to look like the poor relation."

"Stark, you will never look like a poor relation," Natasha quipped as she entered the room dressed in the slinky black dress that had been delivered to her room.

Stark grinned at her. "I see you dressed for the party too."

Natasha shrugged. "Well, it was either this or what I wore coming here. Someone sent this to my room. Seem to know my preferences, especially in terms of colors."

"That would probably be Katirya," Pepper said.

"So what is this all about? Has anyone figured it out yet?" Banner asked.

"I'm guessing they are just reciprocating, you know, from my Gala?" Stark suggested.

"Precisely," a voice came from behind them. "This event seemed a perfect opportunity to return your kindness from your invitation to your New Year's Gala. Kiri was quite impressed."

They all whirled to face the voice, seeing the tall form of the King of Asgard stood framed in the open doorway.

"Loki!" Fury shouted.

Loki lifted one eyebrow as a response, saying nothing.

"Well, that's obvious," Natasha said sarcastically.

"I do apologize for not being available to greet you upon your arrival," Loki said. "May I come in?"

"Hey, it's your palace," Fury replied.

"But… these are your chambers for your stay. I do not like to intrude," Loki said quietly.

"Still, it _is _your place. But come in, would hate to have it said that we left the _King_ standing on the doorstep," Fury said.

Loki ignored the sarcasm in Fury's voice as he entered the room. "Thank you."

"So this invitation was just because Stark invited you to his party?" Fury asked.

"That, and a chance to provide you with an understanding of the scope of the Nine Realms, the war you are now a part of. My brother, Kiri, and I felt if you saw some if our world, you might better comprehend precisely what you are involved in," Loki replied. He noticed a servant enter pushing a small cart that was heaped with trays of food and wine. "I have requested a small meal for you. It will be quite some time before the feasting begins tonight."

Pepper glanced at the woman bringing the food in. "Thank you, Yrsa. And please, tell Katirya thank you for the lovely dress. It fits perfectly."

"I shall let her know, my lady," Yrsa bobbed a slight curtsey.

"Yrsa was helping you too?" Natasha asked.

"She did stop in for a few minutes to help me dress," Pepper answered.

"I believe Yrsa is assigned to these chambers to assist any of you. We are running rather short of staff right now with so many arriving," Loki spoke up, staring intently at the servant. Something about her bothered him.

Pepper nodded. "Well, please let Katirya know how much I love this dress."

"I shall. She was sorry she could not spend much time with you earlier today. The children are being…" He stopped talking; finally recognizing the servant was not really Yrsa, but his wife! His eyes narrowed, piercing through her disguise.

"Being?" Pepper prompted him, following his stare.

Loki blinked, then returned his attention to Pepper. "I am sorry. I just remembered something I still need to attend to for tonight. But, they were just being children, I suppose. When I left our chambers, the twins were arguing about what they are to wear this evening. They, along with Kai are being presented as well as Runa. When it became obvious that many are taking advantage of Runa's naming ceremony to come pay allegiance to Asgard, we decided to include them in the presentations."

_"What are you up to?" Loki asked his wife. _

"_Nothing," Katirya replied, refusing to look directly at him._

"_Nothing?" Loki asked suspiciously. _

"_Well… maybe a little." She flashed him a quick grin. "You did ask if I had looked into their minds. I could not bring myself to do that, so I thought a little visit might help."_

"So, what exactly is this ceremony about? Thor said something about a naming ceremony," Stark said, not realizing he was interrupting Loki's 'conversation' with his wife.

Loki realized Stark was looking strangely at him as if he suspected something was wrong. He quickly schooled his thoughts away from his wife, although his mind was whirling as to how long she had been here and what had she discovered. "Actually, the naming ceremony happened after her birth, but the celebration is in honor of her birth and the naming ceremony, recognizing her place within our family and in the line of succession. We shall recognize all of our children tonight. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to see to that one task." He turned to leave but paused before exiting. "After the ceremony, once the feasting begins, please join us for a more intimate dinner. The main hall will be quite noisy. I believe Fandral and his companions are to be your escorts this evening." He left, not waiting for any response.

"Well, that was odd," Natasha said as Loki left.

"Odd? Yeah, I guess," Stark replied. "Never did feel comfortable around him. Now, shall we eat some of this _small meal_?" He pointed to the huge buffet that had been laid out while Loki was talking. "Where did that girl go? Wanted to ask her what this wine was."

~0~

"What the Hell was that about?" Loki demanded when he caught up to _Yrsa_, grabbing her around her waist and lifting her up in the air.

The servant transformed back to Katirya. She put her hands on his shoulders and looked down at him. "Well, you and Thor did ask if I had bothered to see what the mortals were thinking. I was not overly fond of that task, so instead I thought I would just pay them a visit." She grinned at him.

He set her down and kissed her soundly. "You shall pay for that tonight."

"I look forward to that," she smiled. "But… I did discover quite a bit. Plus Lorelei wandered down to speak to the Romanov woman."

"Lorelei? What was she doing in there?"

"Same thing I was, trying to figure them out. Oh, and she has her eye on Banner."

"Banner?" Loki asked. "That might be interesting."

Katirya laughed. "Indeed. She seemed to quite smitten with him."

"What exactly did you discover?" Loki asked, guiding her towards their chambers.

"They truly do not understand how insignificant they are in the grand scheme of things," Katirya said. "Silly mortals. They have one set of rules for themselves and hold others to another standard. Natasha cannot get beyond your past history, even given her past. She and the others will never fully trust you."

"I wonder if this is a waste of time then?" Loki sighed.

"Hard to say, they really believe in their superiority. Silly mortals. Has Jane Foster arrived yet?"

Loki shook his head. "No, Thor went out to the Bifrost to see what the problem was."

They entered their chambers. Loki winced as he heard Sverre shriek.

"NO! Not wearing that!" Sverre's screamed.

"Ah… paradise," Loki grinned.

"And you want twelve?" Katirya asked archly.

"Indeed. I shall take care of this," he walked into the twins' room. "What is the problem?"

Katirya has followed, standing in the doorway to watch him deal with their son.

Sverre was holding the offending article of clothing at arms' length, and then he dropped it to the floor.

"Not wearing this. Ugly," Sverre announced, no longer screaming.

"And why not? Are you not attending tonight?" Loki asked.

Sverre looked up at his father. "Yes, going."

"Then you are wearing that. It is what I wore when I was presented with my brother, Thor."

Sverre stared at the pile of clothing, then looked up at his father. He sighed in resignation, knowing he would not win any argument with his father. "I hafta?"

Loki nodded. "I know, it is not the most stylish, but I do promise a new sword if you do."

Sverre's eyes lit up at the mention of a new sword. "A new one?"

Loki nodded.

Sverre reached down and scooped up the pile of clothing and took off. "Help me dressed!" he shouted.

"Well, that was nicely done. Did you really wear that?" Katirya asked.

Loki grinned. "No, I would not have been caught dead in that outfit. Who picked it out?"

"I did," Frigga's voice came from the back room. "And yes, you did wear it. Are you ready?"

"No, this minx has spent the entire afternoon pretending to be a servant," Loki pointed to his wife.

"I will be ready on time. You had best get ready…"

"Loki!" Thor shouted as he burst into the room. "Jane is still not here. Heimdall said that Darcy and the others are still trying to convince her to come."

"She does not have to come," Loki said, hoping his brother wouldn't push the issue so much. "And no, you cannot go down and convince her to come."

"But…"

"Thor, Loki is right. Let her decide. She has been through so much that perhaps it is best she does not come to Asgard," Frigga interceded. "We still have much to do for tonight. Perhaps she will change her mind and come, but let her decide for herself."

~0~

Jane reluctantly finished packing a small suitcase. She sat down on the bed for a moment to think. Tears slid down her cheeks as she recalled some of the events of the previous years. She still could not recall everything, but she knew she did not wish to go to Asgard. She slumped onto the bed, unconscious.


	7. Chapter 7: Ta-Dah!

**Author's note: **_I do apologize for the delay in posting. I'm in the midst of one of the most rigorous classes I have ever taken so my time is focused on that. I have much of this story written down, just need to polish it up and post it. I do hope you continue to enjoy the adventures. Please, leave a comment if you do!_

Chapter 7: Ta-Dah!

"This way." Fandral, accompanied by Hogun and Volstagg directed the Avengers group as they departed their rooms.

"You guys are the Warriors Three, right?" Natasha asked. When Fandral nodded, she went on. "Where is the Lady Sif? Isn't she part of your team?" Lorelei had piqued her curiosity about the lady warrior since the earlier visit.

"She is attending to the Cartherion contingent. That is Katirya's homeland, and her brother currently rules as their king." Fandral replied.

"I think there is more to it than that," Volstagg added.

Fandral laughed in response. "I quite agree. Mica does seem to enjoy Sif's company."

"So, Katirya is queen of two places?" Stark asked.

"No, Kiri chose to pass the crown to Micarian when she married Loki," Hogun explained as they turned a corner heading towards the Great Hall. The group paused, waiting for a break in the crowds to enter the stream of people moving towards the site of the celebration.

"Who are all these people?" Banner asked as he was jostled slightly in the crowds.

"People who have come to be a part of the festivities," Fandral replied. He kept his voice neutral, trying to let these mortals realize the scope of the Nine Realms, although even he was surprised at the sheer numbers of visitors that had come to the city.

They eventually reached the Great Hall and walked in.

"Whoa!" Stark's eyes grew wide as they entered the huge room. "How many people can this place hold?"

"Ten thousand, gave or take a few hundred." Hogun grinned. "Although we have not seen it filled in many years. The most I have ever seen was the day Thor was to be crowned King."

"Thor was going to be King? What happened?" Stark asked.

"The Frost Giants invaded during the ceremony," Hogun replied.

"So, why exactly isn't Thor King then?" Natasha asked. "Why Loki?"

"You would need to ask Thor that. It was his choice," Hogun answered.

They had to stop for a minute, waiting for the aisle to clear. Once the people in front of them found their place, they continued through the hall towards the front of the room. Fandral finally stopped near the base of the stairs that lead up to the throne.

"We are up there," Fandral pointed to a small platform that was at the top of the stairs next to one of the pillars that stood along the edges of the hall. The group slowly climbed the short flight of stairs. Once in place, they turned to overlook the Great Hall.

"Ten thousand, you say?" Fury finally spoke up. "All of these people live here?"

"No, there are many guests here today, representatives of the various worlds and lands that have come to pledge their support to Asgard," Hogun replied.

"How do you handle security with this many people?" Fury asked. "You could have a small war in here."

"We have our guards, of course." Fandral quickly pointed out the presence of the palace guards. "And these people came to support Asgard, not fight it."

"Are you guys staying with us?" Stark asked.

"Yes, we can then escort you to the private feast afterwards," Fandral grinned. "And Volstagg can attest to the quality of the food there. There will be several feasts throughout the city, but the kitchens always produce a special banquet for the King!"

"Indeed. It is a feast to not be missed. I was checking up on the kitchens earlier today, and they have amassed a considerable amount of food. The best will indeed be in there!" Volstagg confirmed, patting his belly.

"And of course you are the best connoisseur of food!" Sif's voice came from below them.

Fandral waved at her, noting Micarian and several other Cartherions were with her. "Are you to join us as well?"

Sif nodded as she climbed the stairs and joined the group. Introductions were quickly made.

"You're the Queen's brother, right?" Stark looked at Micarian. "You don't look like her."

Micarian laughed. "We have different fathers."

"Oh? Who is your father?" Stark asked.

"Tony," Pepper said a warning in her voice.

Micarian waved her warning off. "It is nothing. My father was Althanas, I think. Even I am not certain now, given the circumstances."

"Circumstances?" Stark asked.

Micarian laughed. "Yes, it appears that our mother was not exactly faithful to her husband. I spoke with one of our elders, and he believes Althanas married her only to gain the respect and power of our people – mostly the power to be truthful. He had no desire or love for her. The elder felt that only the eldest child, our other sister was the daughter of Althanas. We know Kiri was not his daughter, although that was not discovered until she came here."

"So who is Kiri's father? And is that your father as well?" Natasha asked.

"Oh look! It's Jane and Darcy!" Pepper said, pointing to a group heading their way.

Everyone turned to check, forgetting about the question.

"We made it!" Darcy exclaimed as she joined the group. She turned to look out over the crowd. From their elevated position, they could see the entire hall. "Holy shit! Who _isn't _here? I mean, there weren't this many at Loki's wedding, were there?"

"No, there were not. This has indeed brought many out who were not willing to show their allegiance then; they were uncertain of Loki. Now they will. They feel it is a good cause with good leadership," Hogun answered her. "Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen." He bowed his head towards Jane, Darcy, Erik, and Ian.

Darcy's comment had caused the others to look out at the crowd. The hall was now completely packed, with people still attempting to come in. The crowds shifted, trying to move in an attempt to accommodate everyone who wished to come in for the ceremony.

**~o~0~o~**

"Ready?" Loki asked the small group assembled in a small room near the entrance.

"Yes." Thor grinned, stepping away from the door. He had seen Darcy and Jane dashing into the hall just moments ago.

Young Kai gazed up at his uncle, imitating his every move.

Katirya looked up at Loki. "There are many more here than we expected."

"Yes, there are. I wonder what Thor's mortal friends think of this spectacle? It is surpassing even what I had anticipated." Loki moved to glance into the Great Hall. It was completely filled.

"I just hope this accomplishes something," Katirya moved to stand next to her husband. She was carrying Runa, while the twins were racing about the room chasing each other.

"Well, Stark will probably say it is just like his events in Las Vegas. And Fury will most likely have something disparaging to say," Thor replied. "But I agree, I do hope they begin to understand what the Nine Realms are, what Asgard is, and why they need our help."

Katirya giggled. "Yes, they always do seem to think everything they do is better. Well, shall we show them what a celebration in Asgard is like?"

"I'm ready," Thor moved to enter.

"Mom! Dad! Can I go in with Uncle Thor?" Kai pleaded.

Loki smiled at his eldest child. "I suppose, if your uncle does not mind you tagging along, stealing his thunder." Thor picked up his teasing tone at once.

"Steal my thunder!" Thor pretended to look stern, staring down at young Kai. "You must promise not to do so, for I am the God of Thunder."

"I promise," Kai spoke solemnly, looking up at Thor. "I only picked up your hammer once."

Thor tousled Kai's hair. "That is true. You only did it once. I suppose I shall allow you to join me. Are you ready?"

Kai danced from one foot to the other in excitement. "YES!"

**~o~0~o~**

"THOR!" A roar from the crowd closest to the entrance resounded, echoing through the halls. The name rippled through the Great Hall, as everyone turned to look, seeing the blond god enter the room brandishing Mjölnir in the air.

Sif rolled her eyes. "Thor always did like to make an entrance."

"Who is that with him?" Natasha asked, noticing a smaller figure marching along with Thor. As she spoke, Thor bent down and lifted the young boy up, allowing the child to wave enthusiastically to the crowds.

"Kai, or rather, Prince Kai. Loki's firstborn son and heir," Fandral answered.

A doorway appeared behind them, and Frigga joined them. "I am not too late, am I?"

Sif smiled at her. "No, my lady. Thor has just entered along with Kai."

"Excellent," she glanced down towards where Thor was slowly making his way towards the front. "Kai adores him. Now, where is my other son?"

As if hearing his mother's question, Loki and Katirya entered the room. The twins scampered in front of them, dashing back and forth.

**~o~0~o~**

Loki and Katirya slowly made their way towards the front.

"There are more here than I expected," Loki whispered quietly to his wife.

She smiled up at him. "But that is good. We need their support."

"Indeed," Loki stopped abruptly as a young boy burst out of the crowd.

"Lady Kiri!" the young lad shouted.

"Brandt! Hello! I have not seen you in the gardens this past week. I feared you had forgotten us." Katirya reached out her hand towards the boy. "Kai has missed you as well. Will you join us?"

Brandt started to grab her hand, then looked back at his parents. They nodded their assent, so he took Katirya's offered hand. "I would love to!" He straightened up to stand as tall as he possibly could, clearly excited to be a part of the procession.

They resumed walking towards the front of the hall. Loki noticed that Thor and Kai had reached the throne already and were standing there, waiting on them. His eyes narrowed, not seeing the twins at first.

"There they are," Katirya nodded towards a family ahead that had somehow managed to stall the mischievous pair.

Loki thanked the family as he retrieved his wayward offspring, and they continued their journey to the front. Finally reaching the steps, they climbed to stand next to Thor and Kai.

"Took you long enough," Thor teased them once they arrived.

"Hmmm, next time you can take the twins," Loki replied.

"No thank you!" Thor laughed in reply.

Loki faced the crowds, and silence fell upon the Great Hall.


	8. Chapter 8: Small Talk & Speculation

Chapter 8: Small Talk and Speculation

Natasha looked over the crowd from their vantage point, following the procession of the royal family. She nudged Barton when she noticed his gaze was focused directly across the room. "What are you looking at?"

Clint responded without looking at her. "The guards. Have you noticed how many are present?"

Natasha shook her head. "No, I hadn't." She looked around at the various vantage points, seeing guards stationed everywhere. "Leave it to you to notice that." She turned to Fandral. "Are there always this many guards around? Isn't Asgard safe?"

Fandral considered her question carefully before finally answering. "Yes, Asgard is relatively safe. The guards are always present; it is a formality more than anything, representing the strength of Asgard. Given the purpose of this celebration, it is paramount that we show our strength to the various representatives who have chosen to attend."

"Relatively safe? Only _relatively_?" Stark ears picked up on the single term. "How safe?"

Fandral shrugged. "Very little gets by Heimdall."

"So, what you are saying is that all these guards are just for show?" Fury asked.

"If that is what you mortals call it, then yes," Fandral replied.

"All this," Fury's arm swept around the Great Hall, "just to _impress_? I gotta hand it to you folks. You think if you put on a big show, everyone is going to jump on your bandwagon?" He snorted in derision.

Sif closed her eyes and sighed, shaking her head slightly.

"Seems Kiri was right," Frigga whispered in her ear. "They do not understand."

"No, and it appears they never will," Sif replied.

"Well, we shall not permit them to dampen our spirits. Let us enjoy the celebration." Frigga smiled, gazing fondly out at her two sons.

"Surprising, is it not?" Sif said, no longer whispering as she looked over towards Loki.

Frigga grinned in reply. "Actually, not to me. I saw it in him all the time. It just took a while for others to see it."

"See what?" Natasha asked.

"The king that my son has become," Frigga replied proudly.

"I thought you said he had four children." Natasha noticed Brandt with the group heading towards the throne.

"The young lad who has joined them is Brandt. He has been a loyal supporter of the Queen since she arrived." Sif laughed lightly. "He even offered to marry her at one time. Prince Kai is his best friend, and Princess Aud believes he is without fault. I will not be surprised if he does not marry Aud."

Frigga nodded. "Indeed. He is one of the few who can keep Aud under control."

The party had reached the top of the steps, and the cheering of the crowd quieted.

Loki stared out at the silent crowd. He darted a quick glance at his brother, then smiled down at his wife. He considered his words for a moment and then changed his mind and leaned down and kissed her. The crowd roared its approval.

Thor laughed. "Enough, brother, or we shall be here all day knowing you two."

Loki straightened. "Indeed," he replied quietly. Reaching down, he took Runa from Katirya's arms and held her up. "Friends!" His voice resounded through the hall. "I present to you my daughter, Runa."

The crowds cheered, shouting her name for several minutes until Loki raised one hand up requesting silence. "She is but the youngest of my children."

"So far," Thor muttered under his breath, causing Katirya to giggle.

"Thor, really. Do not encourage him," Katirya hissed.

"I do not need to, little sister. You do that all by yourself," Thor whispered back at her.

Loki shot them both an amused look. Then, he nodded to Kai. "And my eldest son, my heir. Prince Kai has reached an age to begin training. I entrust this training to my brother, Thor, Defender of the Nine Realms!"

Kai's jaw dropped, clearly not expecting this. He gaped up at Thor. "I get to train with you?"

Thor nodded. "Yes, Kai."

"Can Brandt join us?" Kai asked at once.

"Of course. I could not imagine you without your best friend. Of course, that is if Brandt desires to train with the warriors," Thor replied.

Brandt could only nod, completely taken by surprise at this turn of events.

Loki faced the crowd once again. "Your support means much to us. My brother has brought peace to the Nine Realms, but I fear we still have enemies. Know you may count upon Asgard to stand at the forefront of any war."

The chant of "Asgard!" erupted from the crowd.

Loki looked at his brother. "Well, that seems to have gone well."

Thor grinned back in return. "Indeed. Shall we send them off to the feasts?"

Loki nodded, and bells sounding the beginning of the celebration feast rang out. The people cheered in excitement and started streaming towards the exits.

"This way," Hogun's voice directed everyone as the bells sounded. He was holding the door open for them.

Fandral held out his arm towards Frigga. "My lady."

Frigga accepted it and allowed him to escort her out of the Great Hall. The others followed after the couple.

"Where are we going now?" Jane asked.

"The royal feast," Sif replied.

"Royal feast? You mean there is more than one feast?" Stark said with a laugh.

"Indeed. There will be feasting for at least one week," Sif answered.

"All this for a naming ceremony?" Fury asked.

"To be frank, the actual naming ceremony happened the week after Runa was born. This was just a change to gather all the realms together, to see who would appear. Thor thought it would be a good idea. I must say, it was reassuring to see all the people we have fought to free from tyranny show up," Fandral explained.

"Wait! So you are saying that this wasn't even the real naming ceremony?" Natasha asked.

"No, but trust me, the people of Asgard are not complaining. We always enjoy a celebration!" Volstagg said, speaking for the first time.

Sif laughed. "Only you, Volstagg! And only if it involves food!"

"Speaking of food, here we are!" Fandral opened a door and entered, leading Frigga towards the table. "May I get you something to drink, my lady?" he asked as he seated her.

Hogun directed the others towards a table near the back. "This is our table."

Jane scowled. "Wait, this far back?"

"Sorry, but the tables near the front are for the leaders from other worlds. We will be fine back here. Trust me, we're closer to the food," Volstagg pointed toward the buffet to their right.

"But why is Sif way up there?" Jane asked, pointing towards where Micarian was leading the Lady Sif towards a table next to the head table.

"Micarian is the Queen's brother, and King of Cartherion," Hogun said.

"Not fair," Jane said under her breath as she sat down. "I – we- should be up there."

"Jane, not now. This is not the time nor the place," Fury hissed.

Jane shot him a look. "Really? So when will it be time? And how long till we can leave?"

"Soon," Darcy said quietly. "As soon as we can politely leave, we can go back. Okay?"

"No, it is _not_ okay," Jane stated baldly.

A couple joined them at their table. Natasha glanced at them, and then decided to try to find out more about them. "Hi, where are you from?"

The woman smiled at her. "Vanaheim. You are the representatives from Midgard, correct?"

"Midgard?" Natasha looked confused.

"Yeah, we're from Midgard," Darcy answered. "Although we aren't actually the representatives. Just friends, I guess you'd say."

"You do not stand for your planet? Is your leader here?" The woman's partner asked.

"I'm more or less the leader of this group," Fury stated. "We're the Avengers, or rather, they are." He gestured towards the individual members of his team. "We 're a team that protects Earth."

"Does Earth have a ruler? Is he or she present?" The man asked.

"Well, there isn't exactly one ruler for Earth. So no, no one is here. Just us." Darcy shrugged.

The woman looked at the group curiously. "Interesting, as we had heard representatives from… Earth?" When Darcy nodded that she was correct, she went on, "Earth were here, we were excited to hear you were finally advanced sufficiently to become a part of the alliance. I suppose with no ruler, perhaps you might not be quite ready to join us."

"Hey, we can take care of ourselves. We have been for centuries." Stark jumped in.

The man raised his eyebrows. "Indeed?"

Jane caught the question in his voice. "Listen, we can take care of ourselves. Just like Tony just said. Why do all you people have to keep looking down on us?"

"I am sorry you feel that way. Asgard does not 'look down' on anyone, even their enemies," the woman replied.

"Especially one's enemies," her partner added.

"Whatever," Jane replied. "How much longer till we eat?"

The room had filled with people by now, each finding their way to their assigned table. Once everyone was seated, the doors opened. Loki, Katirya, and Thor entered, followed by the three older children.

"Where's the baby?" Natasha asked. "Isn't this whole thing all about her?"

"She is too young to attend. I would imagine that she is back in her room sound asleep," Hogun replied.

Servants entered, bearing trays of food that they set upon the buffet table. Platters were taken to the head table, and while the food was being served to the King and his party, servants indicated that those at the tables could head to the buffet and fill their plates.

"Come along, do not tarry if you want to eat," Volstagg was the first to rise from their table, making a beeline to the buffet.

Conversations in the room lulled as everyone attended to their meal. Stark took a bite of the meat he had chosen. "This is pretty good."

"If you say so," Jane snarled. "It's tough."

"Jane, really. I guess we should have let you stay home," Erik sighed.

"No, she needed to get out. She's been cooped up in her lab too long," Darcy added.

"Quit talking as if I were not here. I _can_ hear you, you know," Jane snapped.

"Let's just enjoy the meal, okay? I promise, we will leave as soon as we can." Darcy attempted to placate Jane with her words. She looked at her friend, trying to figure out what was wrong.

"They do put out quite a spread, but the party is rather tame. Any dancing later?" Stark asked.

"Tony, not everyone thinks a party has to be loud and raucous like yours," Pepper teased him.

"Well, you gotta admit, mine are fun." Stark lifted his glass up in a salute towards the main table as he spoke. "Now, look up there. They are just sitting and eating. Where's they fun?"

"The feasts will continue throughout the next week," Fandral explained. "And yes, there will be dancing and all manner of merriment."

"And tournaments, do not forget the tournaments," Hogun grinned.

Fury kept his eye on the main table, watching them closely. Steve noted his gaze. "Something wrong, sir?"

"No, just curious. You can learn a lot about people by simply watching them," Fury replied. "See, how Loki is not paying any attention to his wife? I don't think things are quite what they seem. And she is spending more time watching Sif and her brother. Although she does keep checking our table."

Steve looked to see what Fury was pointing out. At that moment, Loki leaned over and whispered in Katirya's ear. She threw her head back and laughed. Loki took advantage of the moment and kissed her, which was greeted by a round of cheers from those who had noticed. Katirya whispered something to him, and his gaze turned towards Fury's party.

"Wonder what that was all about?" Fury mused.

Stark laughed. "He probably heard you talking about him. Figured he ought to pay attention to his wife."

"Still think there is something going on," Fury grumbled. "They invited us up here for a reason."

"Up here? For what? A party, right? I mean, I had them down to my gala, only right that they return the favor." Stark drained his glass. A servant quickly stepped over and refilled it. "Good stuff. What is this?"

"One of our finest wines, my lord," the servant replied.

"Hear that!" Stark crowed. "I'm a lord now."

"Lord of the big mouth," Fury mumbled.

Loki and Katirya rose from their table. Together, they moved to one of the tables nearest them and began talking to the people sitting there.

**Author's Notes: **_I have been busy of late so I am not having much time to spend on this. I do have this week off so hoping I can get a bit ahead. I have also started another Loki based fanfic… watched the Hobbit: Battle of Five Armies and had a plot bunny pop up. If you are interested, check out the new story "The Tenth Realm." I now have two different Loki's bouncing around in my mind. _

_I enjoy hearing from my readers and any ideas, suggestions, critiques are more than welcome! That said...I feel I need to add this based on some comments that have come in from "guest" reviews. I do ask that if you intend to review, please make sure you are logged in to FFN. Guest reviews are on moderation and if you ask or comment on something that requires a response, I reject the review since I cannot respond back.._

_I do wish to remind you that this is "my" story, so I write it my way. You might write it differently, but then it is "your" story. That is what fan fiction is - A person's interpretation of events based on characters from movies/TV shows/books/etc. I always appreciate comments, but try to remember that little bit. I have no intentions of making this fit what might happen in Thor 3, or Avengers: Age of Ultron. It's just my silly story. _


	9. Chapter 9: Shatter

**Author's Note: **_I do apologize for taking so long to update this story. _

Chapter 9: Shatter

"Another!" Thor shouted, tossing his glass against the wall. The group he was sitting with roared with laughter. A servant ran quickly to his side, bringing another ale. Thor grinned at the young lad. "Thank you! Now, where were we?"

"You were telling us about how you saved Earth," one of the pretty ladies seated at his table prompted.

"Wait… he did not save Earth alone. Someone had to have helped him," Hogun tossed in.

"I did indeed save it," Thor countered. "Without your help. Just as I conquered the invaders to your village. I seem to recall showing up in the midst of _that_ battle… finding the town on fire, and a battle raging."

"We had it under control," Sif shouted from the neighboring table.

"Yes, someone neglected to tell us to start with the big one," Fandral added with a laugh. "A toast to a good battle!" He raised his mug up, as did everyone else around.

"TO A GOOD BATTLE!" A shout rose from the crowd.

Katirya grinned, nudging her husband. "Your brother appears to be in fine form tonight."

Loki chuckled. "Indeed."

They had left the banquet hall following the meal and wandered through the city stopping in at various celebrations. They were currently in one of Thor's favorite pubs.

Frigga entered, and spying the couple, joined them. "The children are finally asleep. They were wound up, especially Kai. He was not expecting that announcement today; you rather surprised him. And Brandt is sleeping over tonight. I did send word to his parents."

"They will appreciate that," Loki replied. "And I look forward to seeing how Kai takes to training, hopefully better than I did."

"You always did prefer your books," Frigga smiled at her son.

"Thor always did tease me about that," Loki answered. "Told me I needed to practice my fighting skills. Perhaps he was right, so I think it wise for my son to learn from the best."

"There are many ways to fight, my dear," Katirya interjected. "One does not always need to use a weapon, words can be just as good."

"True," Loki conceded.

A palace guard approached them. "My King, Heimdall has sent you a message."

"If you ladies will excuse me a moment," Loki stepped away, following the guard out of the pub.

"I wonder what that is about?" Frigga asked.

"I am certain we will find out soon enough," Katirya replied.

"Another!" Thor's shout rose above the crowd.

Katirya nodded towards Loki's brother. "He appears to be getting over Jane. She is here, in the room, yet he is celebrating with others."

Frigga nodded, noting that the table where Thor was currently seated contained a group from Vanaheim. Jane and her friends were seated at a table off in the corner. "Yes, Jane is nice…"

"Nice?" Katirya interrupted her. "Perhaps she might once have been, but the Jane that is here is far from nice."

Frigga looked at her sharply, surprised to hear Katirya speaking negatively about the woman. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, nothing in particular. But since her capture by Thanos, Jane has been anything but nice. I have allowed her comments, simply because she cannot be faulted for them, but I was surprised when she showed up today," Katirya replied.

"I had not expected her to come either," Frigga admitted. "I wonder what prompted it?"

"Thor?" Katirya asked.

"I wonder, does she still love him?" Frigga mused.

"No, she has forgotten him completely. She remembers none of that time," Katirya replied.

"But then, why Thor?" Frigga asked.

"I do not know why I even said that," Katirya admitted, shaking her head. "I know she does not recall her experiences from that time, when she thought she was in love with him."

"You do not believe she truly loved him?" Frigga asked.

Katirya shrugged. "Perhaps, I honestly do not know. She… met him under rather unusual circumstances… then, everything fell apart. Was it love? We will never know."

Loki returned to the pub and walked up to them. "What are my two favorite ladies up to? You look so serious."

The two women exchanged a quick glance. "Just idle talk," Katirya replied.

Loki pulled his wife into an embrace. "Nothing you do is idle, my dear."

"If you must, we were simply commenting that we were surprised Jane Foster came," Frigga admitted, nodding towards the table where a sullen looking Jane sat with Darcy, Ian, and Erik.

"As was I," Loki replied. "And yes, wife. I have done as you requested."

Frigga looked curiously at him but did not press the issue. "Thor's friends, the Avengers, appear to be having a good time."

Katirya and Loki focused on the group from Earth. They had split up, mingling with others at the celebration. Fury, along with the other Avengers had joined a group near the bar, while Jane and her friends were seated at a table near the door. "They do, but I do not believe they understand things any more than when they first arrived," Loki said.

Katirya sighed. "No, they do not. I am not certain there is anything we can do to change their minds. I fear they think they can handle anything."

"Mortals," Frigga shook her head.

"Well, we have tried. If they choose to go off on their own…" Loki's voice trailed off as Jane stood up.

"I have had enough of this!" Jane shouted; standing up at the table she was at. "I do not want to hear one more thing about how _'wonderful'_ Loki is. I cannot believe you people." She slammed her fist down on the table.

The group at her table stared at her, aghast that she was saying anything against the King of Asgard. Several people even moved away from her vicinity, trying to distance themselves from her.

"My lady, perhaps you do not know him well enough. He has been a good king, and with Thor helping him, they have created a balance of peace in the Nine Realms. Since his marriage to Katirya…"

Jane cut him off. "That witch?"

All conversation near her now stopped, and conversations in the room quieted. Heads swiveled to see what was happening.

"She is no better than him. Ask her yourself. She came here intending to marry one of the brothers; she said as much," Jane snarled.

"My lady, that does not mean…"

"I am not your lady!" Jane snapped. "That woman is evil."

Katirya took a deep breath, taking one step towards Jane. Frigga put a hand on her arm. She looked at Frigga, "No, I think I need to handle this." She headed directly towards Jane, putting a smile on her face. "Indeed, I did come here hoping to convince the All Father that one of his sons ought to marry me. I never said I did not. I did not imagine the eventual outcome." Katirya sent a loving look towards Loki.

"You are a conniving bitch, and they all believe you are so sweet and wonderful. Don't they?" Jane accused her.

"I have never made claims to be '_sweet and wonderful' _as you put it. I knew I could never rule Cartherion alone, that I would need help. I had no desire to marry the individual that Althanas had chosen for me, so yes, I came here, hoping for marriage to a prince of Asgard," Katirya countered, still maintaining a smile. "Now, I believe you might have partaken of too much of our wine. Perhaps a rest might be in order." She reached out a hand towards Jane.

Jane slapped it away and roughly pushed Katirya back. "Get away from me. You'll turn me into something evil. You are just like him, with your magic!" She pointed towards Loki. "And there is another you all believe is _so perfect._ Did no one ever wonder what happened on Svartalfheim? When he supposedly died, trying to _save _me? He just pretended, didn't he? How else could he have returned here? He's good at that. He did that before, or did you all forget? Pretended to fall off the Bifrost, only he ended up going to Earth, trying to rule us. If it weren't for Thor, he would be King of Earth!"

"Jane, Loki wasn't himself. We know that now. You have to accept that," Thor stated calmly, rising from his seat he walked to join Katirya.

Jane rounded on Thor. "Oh, he knew exactly what he was doing. I can't believe he brainwashed you that much," Jane snapped. "Then he allowed you to oh so tamely bring him back here for justice. Justice? Really? You call ruling Asgard justice? What punishment was he given? None!" she shrieked.

"Jane, he was punished. Odin placed him in prison…"

"Right, until Malekith conveniently appeared to let him escape. Oh, wait. No, he did not escape, did he?" Jane shouted. "Did you not realize he was working for Malekith? You let him out thinking you could use him to capture Malekith, but he had no intentions of helping you, did he? He was working for him. It was all part of his plan."

"Jane, really. Enough," Erik rose, moving towards her.

"Get away from me! All of you! You are all so stupid. Did anyone ever ask what happened to Odin? How he died? Isn't it rather convenient that Loki reappeared just in time to take over? Malekith helped him. THAT'S how he got back here, unnoticed, just in time to manage to kill Odin. I'll be he was even happy you managed to kill Malekith, so he did not have to worry about that little issue. You are all so stupid. Loki has been in this since the beginning, intending to rule the Universe. And then _she _showed up, with one of those stupid Infinity stones. Even better! Now he has someone with a bunch of power on his side. Someone he can control… they both want to rule the Universe!"

A shocked silence came over the entire pub.

**Author's Notes: **_Thanks for continuing to read this story. I still cannot believe I have been working on this story for over a year… and looking at my outline, I still have some ground to cover. _

_I also have another Loki story that I've stared – "The Tenth Realm" – a crossover with the Hobbit - yes, a very unlikely combination, but a fun tale._


	10. Chapter 10: Delusion

Chapter 10: Delusion 

People scuttled away from Jane and Katirya, distancing themselves from the two women.

"Kiri…?" Loki spoke.

Katirya jerked her head to face him for a brief moment. _"It is time." _She then focused back on Jane Foster. "I do believe you have outstayed your welcome, Ms. Foster. I suggest you return to Earth."

Loki gestured quickly to two guards. The guards moved to stand behind Jane.

"I will be more than happy to leave this disgusting place! AFTER I am done!" Jane shrieked, and whirled around. "Oh, I see I even have an escort. So _kind _of you, but I believe I can find my own way out, when I am good and ready." She turned to face Katirya once more, a sneer on her face.

"Jane, what is wrong?" Erik asked.

"What is wrong? Seriously? YOU have to ask me that? Where have you been these past few years? Oh, right, playing in your lab."

Erik exchanged a quick glance with Darcy.

"Jane, come on, let's go back to the rooms and rest," Darcy pleaded with her.

"I do not require rest," Jane snapped. "I have work to do here! These two are done. I cannot believe all of you are so stupid as to believe them." She flung her arm towards Loki and Katirya.

Several people began to murmur, discussing the theories Jane had tossed out.

"I had not thought of that, working _with _Malekith. It almost makes sense…"

"Do you think it is possible?"

"What _did _happen to Odin? We never were told."

"Odin went into Odinsleep. If you will not believe your Queen, then you must at least believe me, your former Queen, for I was with my husband before being permitted to return to aid Katirya," Frigga spoke up, dispelling the rumor of Loki's part in Odin's death. "He still sleeps. When he awakens, I will return to his side. Until then, I remain here to support my sons."

Heads began to nod, accepting what Frigga said.

Katirya moved to close in on Jane. "As I said, I do believe you have overstayed your welcome here on Asgard. If you would be so kind as to leave with this escort…"

Jane sneered, and stepped up to Katirya, standing just inches away. "No. What are you going to do about that?"

A gasp erupted from the crowd.

"Can you believe she said that? To the Queen?"

"She is lucky that they do not toss her out."

Katirya heard the crowd's opinion switch back in favor of her and Loki. She cast a swift look at her husband, who nodded in reply.

"An excellent question. There are several choices, none of which are very pleasant… at least for you," Katirya replied quietly. "But if you are going to continue to spew lies, I fear I will have no choice."

"You, and what army? Oh, I forgot, you have that one stupid Stone that can call up a bunch of creepy dudes. Are you going to make that group of ghosts of yours appear and ship me off to Never Never Land?" Jane was standing toe to toe with Katirya, towering over the smaller woman.

Katirya's quiet voice emanated with power as she spoke. "Full of yourself, aren't you? I could call upon the Thirteen, except they are always here." She raised both arms up, and the shadowy forms of the Thirteen hovered over the assembled crowd.

Some people began to shift uncomfortably, uncertain of these strange apparitions.

"If you only knew what I can do!" Jane crowed.

"Ah, but I believe I do," Katirya countered. "Now, the guards will be happy to escort you out of here." She beckoned the guards forward, never taking her eyes off of Jane.

Jane threw her head back and laughed.

"Jane?" Darcy's voice sounded confused.

"Oh, shut up!" Jane shouted. Her eyes turned red, and as she opened her mouth fire spewed out of it.

Screams erupted from the onlookers.

"KIRI!" Loki's shout pierced through the noise as chaos erupted and the Thirteen swirled down upon the two women. For several seconds, it was impossible to determine what was happening.

Everyone in the room backed away to see Katirya still standing with the Thirteen behind her, her eyes glittering as she stared at Jane. "Sorry, not good enough. Nice trick though. Where did you learn that?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Jane snarled.

"Actually, I would. Who are you really?" Katirya asked.

"Jane Foster. Thor?" Jane's voice was suddenly pleading as she called out to Thor. "Thor? Help me? Please?"

Thor took a step forward only to find Loki grabbing his arm, stopping him. He looked at his brother. "Loki, let me go."

"No."

"Thor… help me, please? Stop them," Jane begged. "They plan to kill me. That has been their intention all along. They do not want us to be together. They have told you so many lies…"

"Jane?" Thor looked at her, not understanding her. He moved a few steps closer, then paused.

"Darcy? Ian? Will no one help me?" Jane scanned the faces standing around her, tears starting to stream down her face.

Jane's friends walked towards her, but were stopped by the guards.

Katirya's eyes were partially closed.

"_Get everyone out of here," Katirya's voice spoke to Loki. _

"_Now?"_

"_Yes."_

Loki motioned for the guards to begin moving people out of the room. Most exited willingly, although some craned their heads to watch the two women and the group surrounding them.

"What the hell is going on?" Fury asked Loki as the guards moved to push them out of the room.

"Darcy, leave. I cannot protect you," Katirya said as she backed away from Jane.

"Protect me? Jane is my friend…" Darcy stared at Katirya incredulously.

Jane's tears dried up as her eyes changed to a bright yellow. Sparks began to shoot out of her hands as she pointed them towards Katirya. The Thirteen moved to shield Katirya from the sparks.

"Oh… gonna make them save you? Afraid to face me?" Jane smirked. "I have only just started…"

"Jane! Stop this foolishness. I do not know where you learned these tricks…"

"Don't you?" Jane shouted at Thor. "Did you not ever wonder what happened to me when Thanos captured me?" She lunged at Katirya, grabbing for her throat. "You are going to die today!"

Katirya twisted out of her grasp. "Stop this!" She swung her leg at Jane, sweeping her to the ground.

"Never!" Jane bounced up from the floor and flew towards Katirya.

Katirya raised one hand, shooting an energy blast at Jane. Jane flew back, hitting the wall hard. Her head cracked against the stone wall, and she slumped to the floor.

"Jane!" Darcy screamed. "Are you all right?" She tried to rush to her friend's aid, only to find a guard picking her up, preventing her from moving. She punched and kicked him. "Put me down, you bastard!"

"KIRI?" Thor shouted in rage, pushing off Loki's hand, he ran towards Jane.

"Thor, no!" Loki yelled. "Stay back."

Katirya slowly approached the slumped figured. She was about five feet away when Jane rose and then burst into flames. Katirya screamed.

"Kiri!" Loki cried out.

"JANE!" Thor and Darcy's voices screamed as one.

Thor was the first to reach Katirya. Shoving her away, he glared at her. "What did you do?"

"Oh my god… oh my god… oh my god. Jane is dead…" Darcy mumbled.

Katirya shook her head, saying nothing. She dropped her head.

Thor grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "What did you do? How did you make her do that?"

Katirya shook her head. "I did nothing."

"Jane was a mortal. She had no magic!" Thor raged. The smell of burning flesh caused him to turn and stare at the pile of ashes where Jane had been. "Now she is dead…. What did you do?"

"I did nothing," Katirya repeated.

Loki had reached her side. Grabbing her arms, he raised them up to inspect the burns on her. Her clothes were singed. He pulled her into an embrace. "Kiri… what happened?"

"I did not expect that. Damn!" Katirya leaned into her husband. "We still do not know."

"Know what? That Jane is dead because of you?" Thor shouted.

Katirya looked at Thor, then Loki. "We need to go to the Healers. All of us."

Thor stared at her in disgust. "Jane was right, you two are a pair."

"Thor, you do not understand…" Loki tried to reason with his brother. "This isn't what it seems. Please, come with us."

Ian was holding Darcy who was sobbing uncontrollably. "I can't believe she is dead."

"Ian, come with us," Loki commanded. "Thor?"

Thor glared at him. "Why should I?"

"Because I am asking you to, please. Trust me."

**Author's Notes: **_Well… sorry for not warning about the cannon character death, but... Jane simply was no longer integral to my story. Again, this is my story – my version of what happens after The Dark World. I will once more state that I have no intentions of trying to connect it to Thor 3 – how can I? It isn't even out yet, with no script to even peek at. But, dear readers, please pay close attention to the details in this chapter before you rake me over the coals for this "death". The next chapter will offer some explanation, but I still have much to deal with. This particular story in my series is about Deception - keep that in mind. _

_That said, comments are always welcome as well as reviews. A reminder that if you are not logged in to FFN, your comments are moderated and if you are asking me a question, I have no way to respond so those will not post. _

_If you'd like a little more "light-hearted" Loki, do check out my Loki crossover with the Hobbit – "The Tenth Realm". It is just pure fun. _


	11. Chapter 11: Death Becomes Her

Chapter 11 – Death Becomes Her

"Oh…" Katirya stared down at her ruined dress, then focused on the burns on her exposed skin. She lifted her right forearm up to inspect it more closely. One of the burns on her arm suddenly flared up. "Loki?" 

"What?" Loki stared at her arm. "How?"

"Her," Katirya jerked her head back towards the pile that had once been Jane. She closed her eyes, and the flames subsided. Her eyes fluttered open, and she scratched at the spot where the flames had been. "I need to see Eir."

Loki swept Katirya up into his arms as they exited the room. She snuggled up against him as they walked swiftly towards the Healers. Ian tugged Darcy along behind them, with Thor bringing up the rear.

They passed Fury and several of the Avengers in the hallway.

"What happened back there? Where is Jane Foster?" Fury demanded.

Loki brushed past, not answering.

"You stop right there and answer me!" Fury shouted to Loki's retreating back. He stepped forward, attempting to follow, only to find his way blocked by a wall of guards. He nodded to the other Avengers and they each scattered through the room heading for different exits, only to find them blocked by guards.

"My lord! What has happened to the Queen?" Eir greeted him as the group entered.

"Jane Foster." Loki walked past Eir towards one of the healing rooms. He set Katirya down on the table and turned to face Eir.

Eir frowned. "Jane Foster? That is impossible." She shook her head.

"The _other_ Jane. Please, see to my wife as I show the others," Loki requested. He leaned down and kissed Katirya on the top of her head. "I shall be right back after I explain everything to them."

Katirya smiled at him. "I will be fine. You deal with that issue."

"Gylla, please fetch the Queen a new dress," Eir directed one of her assistants.

Gylla nodded and left the room.

"Now, let's see about these burns…" Eir muttered, bending over to inspect the ones on Katirya's arms. "I think we can find something that will work on them… any clue what caused them?"

Katirya shook her head. "Other than the spontaneous combustion, no. I do not know how she did it."

Loki shepherded the others out as Eir focused on Katirya. He directed them to another room down the hall. "In here, please. Perhaps this might explain things better if you see it."

Darcy gasped when she saw the body on the table. "How… how did Jane get here? She… exploded, back in the pub."

"Jane!" Thor raced to Jane's side, looking down with concern. "She is dead, isn't she?" He glared at his brother.

"Yes, she is dead. We found her this way."

"But… we saw… she burned… back in the pub," Darcy spluttered.

Loki shook his head. "That was not Jane Foster, at least not the Jane you knew. That was an imposter."

"No! That is impossible. It was Jane. I ought to know," Thor insisted.

"Jane was with us the entire time. How could it have been an imposter? How do you know for certain?" Erik inquired, stepping closer to the body to view it. "Although this does look like Jane."

"Trust me, it is the real Jane Foster. Kiri discovered the difference the instant your party arrived in Asgard. She sensed a stranger in your group but did not probe further. She had hoped to determine who it was, and perhaps even discover who had sent them."

"Why would someone come pretending to be Jane?" Thor demanded.

Loki lifted his eyebrows at this question. "Really? You ask that? Remember, Kiri has found five of the Infinity Stones. That alone would attract our enemy. From what just happened in the pub, I would speculate that they were sent to try to retrieve the Stones, or kill Kiri… or perhaps both. It would disrupt things here sufficiently to allow someone to infiltrate Asgard to find the Stones."

"Won't they still try?" Darcy asked.

"The Stones are safe. Kiri only had the Cronuth with her tonight," Loki assured her. "The fact that they did not succeed means that the next part of their plan could not be implemented, plus we were prepared for something to happen."

"The guards!" Darcy exclaimed.

"The guards?" Thor looked at her curiously.

"Fury mentioned it when we joined the party. How Clint had pointed out that there were, like, a ton of guards there. I didn't think anything of it, I mean… there always seems to be a lot of guards around." Darcy shrugged as she finished speaking. "Were there more? And how did you find the real Jane?"

"Yes, there were more guards that usual. As to finding Jane, I asked Heimdall to send someone down to Earth to discover what had happened to Jane. The guards found her dead in her room. I am sorry, but whoever was posing as Jane is most likely the one who murdered her," Loki explained.

"So, we don't know any more than when we started," Thor said despondently.

"Correct. Although, I suspect one or more of your friends, the Avengers, are involved," Loki replied.

"The Avengers?" Thor looked sharply at his brother. "How?"

"I do not know; it is just a suspicion. Kiri doesn't even know that I think that, but my belief is that someone has contacted them, offered something to earn their trust. It would explain their overconfidence, their belief that they are untouchable in this war," Loki answered.

Thor thought about it for a few seconds, then nodded. "It is possible, but who?"

Loki shrugged. "That is the question."

Hela quietly entered the room. She glanced around at all the somber faces before approaching Loki. She drew him away from the others and spoke to him quietly for several moments. Loki nodded, and they returned to the group.

"Lady Jane's friends," Hela addressed Darcy and the others. "I have an offer for you. I know your traditions on Earth are different than the customs we follow, but if you wish, Jane can be taken to Valhalla – as an honored guest, if you are amenable."

"Or, we can permit you to quietly take her body back to Earth, but until we know who was behind this, you cannot tell anyone that the Jane back in the pub was not the real Jane," Loki added.

Darcy looked at the others from Earth. "What do you think?"

"You do not need to decide immediately…"

"LOKI!" Eir's shout carried down the hall into the room.

Hearing the urgency in the healer's voice, Loki abruptly left the room. He entered Kiri's room to find his wife, still in her burned dress, attempting to leave the room.

"My Queen, you must let me finish…"

"Kiri?"

"Loki! Tell Eir I _have _to check this out!" Katirya held out her shoe, or what was left of her shoe.

"That is your shoe," Loki pointed out.

"I _know_ it is my shoe, but look at this!" Katirya pointed to a spot on the heel. "Recognize it?"

Loki stared at it. "What? How did that get there?"

Katirya rolled her eyes. "It ought to be rather obvious. When that thing burst into flames. Look familiar?"

"Yes. This is significant," he stared at the tiny dot of pink goo on her shoe. "Are you sure you did not pick this up earlier in the day?"

"I wasn't wearing these shoes earlier. They were new, made especially for the ceremony," Katirya answered. "Now, we need to go down to those labs and investigate."

Thor burst into the room. "What is wrong?" Seeing Katirya in one piece, he calmed down.

Loki held out the shoe. "See anything you recognize?"

"How did that get there?" Thor asked.

"Jane, or the not-Jane person," Katirya answered.

"We must follow up on this. It connects Stark to our enemy. Who did he work with in the labs?" Loki asked.

"A few of our scientists. Why?"

"We need to talk to them… now!" Loki said. He put his arms around Katirya and lifted her up. He set her down on the table and chucked her chin. "Now, my dear, _you_ will stay here until Eir is done with you while my brother and I investigate this. Understand?"

Katirya wrinkled her nose as she frowned. "Really. I can help…"

"You are half-dressed and still covered in burns. We will be fine."

Katirya sighed heavily. "Fine."

"Thank you, my King," Eir smiled at him.

"You are most welcome. Now, Thor, shall we?"

Thor nodded.

The two brothers exited the healers, taking off at a run towards the labs.

**Author's Notes: **_Thanks for continuing to read this story. I do wish to remind you if you have questions, please PM me. I have recently received a few "Guest" reviews that I rejected as they posed questions that required answers. Even if you leave a name, there are often multiple people on FFN with similar names and I cannot identify which one you are. All 'guest' reviews are moderated, so those that simply pose questions are rejected. _

_In response to a few of these:_

_I have no intentions of linking these stories to Thor 3, Avengers: Age of Ultron, or any future Marvel movies. I have no clue what is going to happen in any of these future movies. _

_This story takes place at the end of TDW and is my interpretation of what happens. At this point, we are several years after the end of that movie. Much has changed and the characters have grown and changed as a result. _

_Jane Foster – she is the way she is because that is how I wrote the story. This is a result of how I viewed her character in TDW. I used the movie in a paper I wrote for a graduate class where I had to analyze several factors in the movie. During that time, I watched the movie with a more critical eye and noticed several things about the character that resulted in my wanting to write this story in the first place. I am not going to explain why she ended up the way she did in terms of personality. If you've read the stories, you should have seen the changes and realized why she changed. _

_This is "my" story. I will refer you to a part of my FFN profile – "__I always appreciate reviews, and I always try to reply back. I realize not everyone is going to like my story, but please note that one tiny word = MY. This is my interpretation of the characters and they behave how I desire them to. If you think a certain character should do something differently - that is perfectly fine - but do not tell me they cannot do it in my story. I simply suggest you write your own story."_

_Sorry for the lengthy notes, but I felt the questions needed a response. _

_And if you'd like to see a different version of Loki – check out my story "The Tenth Realm"._


	12. Chapter 12: Child's Play

**Author's Notes: **_I do apologize for the long delay in posting this chapter. Had a slight issue I needed to figure out before I could complete it. Enjoy! _

Chapter 12: Child's Play

Thor and Loki burst into the weapons lab startling the one man who was in there working.

Thor recognized the lone man still working in the lab. "Sóti! I am glad you are here. I need to know something about Tony Stark. You were here when he was working on his new weapon, correct?" Loki was quick to note that his brother did not refer to Stark as his friend. He looked at him curiously but said nothing. Sóti nodded. "Aye, my lord. I helped him for a bit, but he did not work on the weapon." "What was he working on? How did he get that weapon of his to combine with our technology?" Thor asked. Sóti shook his head. "He said it was fine as it was. He spent more time working on his metal suit, and he refused to let me touch that. All I did was show him how to connect it to our technology base."

"And what else?" Loki asked suspiciously. "He had to have done something else." Thor pounded his fist angrily into the bench. "That bastard! Sóti, check all around. He's bound to have hooked up something in here, and who knows where else. Trying to download everything. That's what he did on the Quinjet. Downloaded all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files. It's how he found out what Fury was up to. Who is behind this?" "That is what we are trying to discover," Loki reminded him. Sóti began searching the lab. "What precisely am I searching for?"

Thor shrugged. "I do not know. As far as I know he cannot connect to his own computers from here unless he brought something with him. Whatever it is, it is going to be small… unless…" "Unless what?" Loki asked. "Unless he is working for our enemy. I cannot believe I trusted him." "You shouldn't have," Fury's voice sounded in the room. "Sorry boys, but you're too late. Stark got what I needed when he was working in there. Now… if you don't mind returning to where you left us surrounded by your goons." "And if we do not?" Loki asked quietly. "Let's just say it is in your best interest… or your children's best interest." "_Kiri!" Loki's mind screamed._ _~o~O~o~_ Katirya pulled away from Eir. "I have to go. NOW!"

"But, my Queen, we are not quite done…" Eir protested. "We are done for now. Something is going on. I promise I shall return as soon as I can, but Loki…" Katirya put her hands to her head, shaking it furiously. "Mortals!" she huffed in frustration. She grabbed the new dress one of the assistants had brought for her, and dressing quickly darted out of the room. She made one stop before she reached the hallway to the pub. Thor and Loki were waiting for her. "What is going on?" she asked. Loki looked at her, noticing she had the Stones. "The children, Fury is threatening them. It seems Stark had no intentions of working on his weapon but brought it here fully assembled. He had to have had assistance back on Earth."

"But that would mean The Other has been working with them all this time. I do not believe that for an instant," Katirya stated baldly. "We would have known. He… or she would have shown their hand far sooner. They have allowed us to collect most of the Infinity Gems. Why wait till now?" "Perhaps because we _have_ most of the Stones and they believe they can take them from us now. I wonder if they have the last one?" Thor mused. "Well, there is only one way to find out," Loki nodded towards the pub. "Ready?" Katirya took a deep breath, then nodded. "Yes." As the three reached the pub, two guards opened the doors, allowing them to enter the room. Fury was seated with his feet up on the table in front of him, looking rather satisfied. "Well, well. I see you three have finally decided to rejoin us," Fury rose from his seat, clasping his hands behind his back. "Where's Barton?" Thor asked, noticing the man was missing. "No one was to be allowed to leave here." "Oh, he left before all the commotion. Before _she_ killed Jane Foster," Fury stared hard at Katirya. Challenging her to refute his statement. Katirya ignored Fury's taunt; instead she laughed and called over to the bar. "I do believe this calls for a round of drinks!" She walked gracefully to one of the nearby benches and sat down. "Loki, shall it be that champagne? I find I am growing rather fond of that beverage." Loki grinned as he joined her on the bench. "Champagne it is." He clapped his hands and servers quickly made the rounds with trays of champagne. Fury looked at her, astonished at her lack of concern. "Drinks? Aren't you worried about your kids?" He refused the drink being offered by a server. "No," Katirya took a sip of her champagne. "I am more concerned about your Mr. Barton." "Concerned? Shouldn't you be concerned about your children?" Fury repeated. "Clearly you do not know the twins. They take after their father." Katirya gave Loki an amused look. "Lady, you are plain crazy. Barton is a trained assassin. Kids are child's play for him, and there are just four and one is an infant. You'd better hope he doesn't get angry," Fury shouted. Thor laughed. "I believe that might have been a mistake on your part, only sending one to retrieve that group. He will discover they are more than you bargained for. Are you sure you want to use the children as leverage?" "Thor! Stay out of this. Unless you want to offer up yourself in the kids place," Fury glared at him. "Wait, Director. You sent Clint to get those children? Innocent children? Since when have you resorted to that level? And why didn't you tell all of us?" Natasha interrupted. "Stay out of this Romanov. This is a top-secret mission, with a need to know basis, and _YOU _were not on that list! Got it!" Fury retorted. "I'm sorry Director, but I'm with Miss Romanov. Children are not something that should be a part of any negotiations," Rogers chimed in. "Are you guys questioning me?" Fury stared at them. "My my… troubles in paradise? Well… now that we have determined Mr. Barton was on the top-secret list, and the rest were not, why don't you join us in a drink? We might be in for a long wait while he attempts to retrieve our children." Loki lifted a glass in salute. "And do tell us, what is it you want? Or is that on a '_need to know' _basis as well?" "You mean you don't know what I want? Tsk, tsk," Fury turned and waggled a finger at Loki. "I am surprised at you. I thought you knew everything." He jerked his head towards Katirya. "I want those gems your wife has. Pretty, but I can put them to better use." "You cannot use the Stones, so what good are they to you?" Katirya asked quietly. "You're right. I can't use them, but I _can_ barter with them. Now, just hand them over and your kids will be safe," Fury held out his hand. "We'll be gone and that will be that." "What are you getting in return for the Gems?" Loki asked. "They have promised to leave Earth out of all this. We will be safe," Fury replied. "Safe? Do you not understand _that _is what we are trying to do?" Thor roared at Fury.

"All I see is war and chaos around you. That seems to be all you folks can manage," Fury stated bluntly. "Now hand them over nicely and I'll leave." "Who has promised to leave Earth out of the war?" Loki's eyes narrowed as he asked Fury. "Why? Does it matter? All I care about is keeping Earth safe," Fury retorted. "Safe? Do you truly believe _THEY _will keep you out of this?" Thor's arm swept to encompass all of Asgard. "They have waged a war on us! _WE _have been the only thing standing between you and utter annihilation! Are you that foolish?" "I'm not the one who's being foolish. They've offered…"

"WHO? Who has offered?" Loki demanded. He rose from the bench and advanced on Fury. "Tell us who wants these gems!" "Like I'm going to tell you. Just give me those gems and we will be out of here." "You are not being very polite for a guest," Loki chided Fury. "Threatening us, demanding things… I would say you have managed to overstay your welcome." "I'll do more than that if you don't do as I ask!" Fury glared at Loki. Loki, Katirya, and Thor exchanged a quick look. Before they could say anything, a door burst open and Kai raced in. Flying into his mother's arms, he wailed. "Mom! I didn't do it!"

"Shhh… I know, Kai. What did the twins do now?" Katirya said soothingly. Kai raised his head to look at his mother's face. "You know they did it?" Katirya grinned. "Yes, and for once I shall not even be mad at them." "Not even the tiniest bit?" Kai asked suspiciously. "Not even the tiniest bit," Katirya assured him. "Nor will your father be mad." Kai slid off Katirya's lap and faced his father. When Loki nodded, he sighed in relief. "That's good then." Loki gently pulled his son into a hug. "So, what exactly did they do this time?" he whispered quietly in Kai's ear. "You'll see." Kai pointed to the door and giggled. "Here they come!"

**Author's Notes: **_I do hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please remember all "guest" reviews are moderated, so if you have a question, either PM me or sign in to review. _


	13. Chapter 13: Crossroads

Chapter 13: Crossroads

The guards at the door stepped aside to allow the newcomers to enter. Aud stepped proudly into the room, carrying a chain that trailed behind her. As she tugged it Barton entered. The chain was wrapped around his belly, his hands were bound together in front of his body, and a muzzle was firmly clamped over his mouth. He stumbled forward as Aud yanked it once more.

"Mom!" Aud announced proudly. "He tried to make us do something wrong."

Barton jumped, a muffled curse coming from under the muzzle.

The cause of his sudden movement became evident as Sverre entered using one of Barton's arrows to prod him forward.

"He did not know the password code. So we captured him," Sverre explained.

"Password code?" Natasha asked, trying hard not to laugh at seeing her friend completely helpless in the hands of two small children.

"They are the children of a king, thus their safety is always of utmost concern. Given their talents, they do not necessarily require a constant guard, but they have been instructed that if anyone other than one of us," Loki indicated Katirya, Frigga and Thor, "asks them to do something, they ask for the code. If none is given, they are told to do what they must to maintain their safety. They are rather talented, although they are not always wise in their choice of methods, though I must say this one is quite appropriate."

"Kai usually is a bit more delicate in how he handles it," Katirya added. "He usually just knocks them senseless. The twins can be a bit more creative. As I mentioned, they do take after their father.

Kai beamed at hearing his mother's praise, while several Asgardians laughed at the explanation, having been the brunt of the twins' experiments in the past when practices were planned. They knew full well the extent of the powers of all of Loki's children, but the twins were the worst.

Clint glared at them.

"Sverre, Aud, I do believe you have made your point. You may let the man go," Loki said.

"Where is Runa?" Katirya asked.

"Right here, my lady," a nurse scurried in bearing the youngest child. "I made sure she was safe, although he did try to take her first. Sverre and Aud were quick to stop him."

The twins puffed up proudly at the praise.

"You did well, my children," Katirya smiled at them. "Now, do as your father says. Release the man."

"Do we have to? He was being mean to us," Aud asked.

"Yes, you must. He is going to leave soon," Loki said.

With a huff, Aud turned towards Barton. She flicked her wrist towards the man and a flash of light shot out, destroying the cuffs at his wrists. Barton winced, and swore once more.

Sverre lifted his hand, noticing Barton flinch, he grinned. "It won't hurt… much." A subtle gesture of his right hand caused the muzzle to slip off, clattering to the ground. "Next time, I might not be so nice."

"Nice?" Barton spluttered. "You two are freaks!" He turned to glare at Fury. "Next time Fury, you get the kids. These two are monsters!"

"Well, now that your plan to have leverage over us has fallen apart, perhaps we can discuss a few things?" Loki focused on Fury.

"I don't have to discuss nothing with the likes of you!" Fury spat.

"Well, you will be returning empty-handed, I thought perhaps you might wish to reconsider your position," Loki replied.

Fury stared stonily at Loki, not responding to the request.

"Well, that makes this difficult, or easy. I suppose it all depends on what we decide to do. Take Mr. Fury and his friends to the prison," Loki ordered the guards.

"You have no right!" Fury shouted as the guards surrounded him and the other mortals.

"Actually, I have every right. You threatened my family," Loki retorted. "But on second thought, leave them here. They might be able to help after all."

"I will not help the likes of you or your wife, Loki," Fury snarled. "You killed an innocent woman tonight."

Loki shrugged. "As if I need your assistance."

"Speaking of family," Katirya gathered their children together. "I think it is time you four return to bed." She handed Runa off to the nurse. "Now run along. I'll be along shortly to tuck you in… again." She glared at Barton as the nurse followed behind the twins and Kai as they departed. Two guards brought up the rear. "I wish we knew _who _we were up against."

Thor nodded. "It would help. As it is, we are simply reacting to their attacks."

"Exactly!" Loki punched his fist into his open hand. "We are being led by the noses."

Fury snorted.

"You are no better," Loki smirked at the man. "You were doing his bidding, fool!"

"Well, we know Thanos is dead," Katirya pointed out. "So it has to be whoever he was working for. Unfortunately, no one seems to know who that is, unless… wait a minute. Loki, you might have something. What if we pretended that Fury's plot worked? What if I went down to Earth with him?"

Loki shook his head. "I cannot risk that, not without knowing who it is you would be meeting."

Katirya frowned. "It seems to be our only course of action. We might be able to flush them out with this ploy."

"Sorry, Kiri, but I tend to agree with Loki," Thor said. "Until we know who or what we are up against, we cannot risk any one of us… alone."

"Well, let's consider what we _do_ know about him… or her," Loki said. "First, they used Jane Foster."

"Where are Jane's friends?" Natasha finally spoke up.

"They probably killed them too," Fury replied.

"You know, I am rather tempted to use that on you," Loki pointed to the muzzle that was still lying on the floor.

"Go ahead and try," Fury sneered.

"They are in the healer's, deciding on what to do in terms of Jane Foster. And we did not kill Jane. She rather did that to herself when she, ah, _exploded_ trying to kill my wife. Which brings up another point. Whoever this person is, they have managed to instill fanaticism within their people," Loki glanced at the spot where Jane had burst into flames. "She was willing to die for the cause." He looked over at Fury. "Are you? Or any of you for that matter?" He included the other Avengers.

"Hey, I had no part of kidnapping your kids. I didn't know any of this was even going down," Steve spoke up.

"Me either," Banner added.

"Perhaps we ought to include Darcy, Ian, and Erik in this discussion. It in some ways involves their friend," Katirya said gently. "It is unfortunate that Jane died."

"She didn't die of old age, you killed her," Fury accused her.

Katirya shook her head. "No, no I did not kill Jane. Jane… the Jane that you once knew was gone a long time ago. Whoever you are working for started the process, put her on the road to her death. She was an unwitting soldier in this war. I am sorry she died, but I will honor her."

"Honor?" Fury glared at her. "You don't understand honor."

"If it makes you happy to be this bitter, to not try to understand what is happening in the entire universe and not just your little corner of it… "

Fury interrupted Katirya. "Well, it is MY corner of the universe and you ain't going to mess with it. Got it, missy?"

"And _that _is your problem. You think only of yourself," Loki stated, staring at Fury. "It is no wonder that none of the other worlds consider Earth worth it."

Fury's eyes narrowed. "Are you saying we're just little fish? Let me tell you something. We've managed to stave off attacks from all those others, without your help. And we will continue to do so. Now let us go back and we'll leave you alone."

"I'm afraid I cannot do that. At least not yet," Loki replied. He nodded to one of the guards. "Could you request that Darcy and the others join us?" As the guard left, he frowned. "This still doesn't get us any closer to figuring out our next course of action."

Katirya stared at Fury for a long moment. "Loki? What if whoever is behind this expected Fury to fail?"

Loki looked sharply at her. "Fail?"

"Yes, they are clearly aware of our weak spots, why not theirs?" she gestured towards the mortals. "They are much easier to read in fact."

"I had _no _intention of failing!" Fury shouted.

"Really? So then, why did you send just one person to capture the children? And why use the children in the first place?" Loki asked. "You had no clue what to expect, obviously." He glanced over at Barton who had the good graces to cast his gaze down at the floor.

"Hey, I wasn't in charge, okay? I was just doing as I was told," Barton stated.

"You throwing me under the bus?" Fury asked.

"Hey, boss. I did like you ordered. I've never questioned you once," Barton began.

"But maybe we should," Natasha finished for him. "You've been known to lie to us. What didn't you tell us about this trip? Besides the fact you intended to kidnap their children?"

"I don't have to answer to you, Romanov," Fury snapped.

Thor sighed as his friends bickered. "Enough. It did not work. Your plan, such as it was, failed. Now be quiet."

Loki waved his hand, causing a sheer curtain to appear between them and the mortals. "That should keep it quieter while we discuss this. I like the idea that they anticipated Fury to fail, but what would it garner them?"

"War," Thor replied. "We'd attack Earth, at least that is what I expect they think we would do. It makes sense."

Loki nodded. "It does. I wonder… can we wage a fake war on Earth to draw them out?"


	14. Chapter 14: Strife

Chapter 14: Strife

Darcy was the first to enter the room, followed closely by Ian and Erik. Her face streaked red, evidence that she had been crying. She glanced briefly around the room, not finding what she was looking for, but hearing the Avengers arguing amongst themselves.

"Guys!" Darcy shouted. "What's going on and where are the others?"

"They took off, like disappeared," Fury growled.

"Disappeared?" Darcy repeated.

"Yeah, guess they didn't like what I was saying…"

"We are right here." Loki dropped the magic that had separated them.

Fury glared at him. "Spying on us?"

"No, we needed to talk without all your noise," Loki replied. "But it shall have to wait until later. Darcy, have you decided?"

Darcy nodded; tears welled up in her eyes as she took a deep breath. "Yes, we discussed it and think your offer is most generous. An Asgardian funeral would be appropriate to celebrate her death."

Katirya moved to comfort the young woman. Putting an arm around her shoulders, she directed Darcy to a chair.

"Celebrate Jane's death?" Fury's jaw dropped. "With an Asgardian funeral? Are you serious?"

Loki ignored him. "It shall be arranged then."

"Just like that?" Fury asked. "Darcy, are you a fool? They killed her and you're going to let them bury her?"

Darcy sighed heavily. "Director, it's just not that easy. I think this is what Jane would want."

"What Jane would want?" Fury's arms flailed about wildly as he started to pace. "Look at them. They're trying to pretend they had nothing to do with all this."

"I am sorry you feel this way, but we have never indicated that we had nothing to do with this, but do not lay the blame for the death of Jane Foster upon us. I loved her and wished her no harm." Thor spoke quietly.

"You're the ones who killed Jane. It's your fault she is dead," Fury countered.

"Our fault? So you want to start pointing fingers at who is to blame?" Katirya whirled to face Fury. She took a step towards him then swept her arm around the room. "Pick one… any one! We are all to blame if you wish to put it that way."

"Well, if she'd never met Thor…"

"So Thor is the reason this all happened?" Katirya interrupted him, her eyes blazing. "Ha! Let's look at that. Where shall I start? When he first met Jane? His father sent Thor down to Earth as a result of his actions on Jotunheim. Now, granted, his actions were spurred by the fact that the Frost Giants had invaded Asgard… so let's blame Loki for that, as he was the one who managed to allow them into Asgard. But wait… we can't stop there, as really it wasn't Loki's fault Laufey wanted the Chest back so badly. That was Odin's fault for stealing it in the first place, Loki just took advantage of the fact. Or we can blame the Frost Giants for waging a war on Earth, which resulted in Odin taking the Casket and bringing his son back to Asgard to grow up. Which all comes back to Loki again, who just wanted recognition from his father as being capable of ruling Asgard. So when that failed, we can blame the Other for taking advantage of Loki's failure to gain Odin's approval and used him to try to overcome Earth. That unleashed the Mind Stone on Earth… but wait! The Tesseract was already there! So let's blame Tony Stark for finding it in the first place. Perhaps if Stark hadn't found it, the Other wouldn't have been so interested in finding the other Stones. And while I'm at it, why don't you just blame me? If I hadn't rebelled against my family, chosen to take the Cronuth Stone and leave my homeland and come here, none of this might have happened." She paused, taking a deep breath. During her tirade, she had moved closer to Fury so that now she was standing less than two feet from him. She glared at him. "And you want to blame us for the unfortunate death of one person. How many have you killed? You wanted to kidnap my children." Her chest was heaving as she finished.

Fury's eyes darted around the room, gauging how others had taken her speech.

Barton waved towards the bar. "Hey, can I get another drink? I think she has just gotten started." When Katirya turned to face him, he raised his hands warding her off. "Hey, I'm sorry. I was just following orders." He pointed towards Fury. "His orders."

"A good soldier is indeed one who obeys orders," Thor spoke up. "But, a wise soldier can recognize a good leader." He faced Fury. "When did you change? Or were you always like this?"

"Hey, I'm just doing my job. My job is to save Earth by any means possible. You guys have been the ones to cause all the trouble. It…"

Darcy interrupted him before he could start again. "Kiri is right. You can't blame anyone for what has happened. We can only accept that it has, and move forward. A single decision any one of us made in the past led us down this path to this point. A single change, had we done something different, we might not have arrived here at this time and place. We cannot change the past, we can just go on."

Silence reigned in the room.

"Darcy is right," Katirya finally said. "We cannot go back, the past is over. What is done is done and to sit around trying to blame anyone is a waste of time. We must move forward and act quickly. Now, on that note, we were trying to figure out our next move."

"So, what is your plan?" Erik asked.

"We do not have one as yet. We have one possible hypothesis, that whoever is behind this – sending Fury here to kidnap our children – expected him to fail," Loki stated.

"I had no intention of failing!" Fury shouted.

Loki rolled his eyes and went on. "Our theory is that they would expect us to retaliate, perhaps wage a war on Earth, thus leaving Asgard vulnerable to attack. Anyone else have any thoughts?"

"So what you're thinking is that they _expected_ us to fail, you guys to get mad, and attack Earth?" Barton scratched his head, trying to comprehend it. "That does make sense. Obviously they know you better than we do."

Fury glared at him.

"What? You didn't know what those kids were capable of, did you?" Barton lifted his hands up in mock surrender. "And if you did, you sent me in there alone, a fact I do not appreciate if that is the case. So which is it?"

"I did not know; they did not advise me of that," Fury stated baldly.

"So, what was in it for you?" Stark asked.

"Wait a sec!" Natasha's eyes narrowed. "You're the one with the new weapon. Where'd you get that from?"

"Huh? I'm the genius of the group, or did you forget that?" Stark quipped. "And that was my purpose in coming here in the first place."

"Genius, right. But…"

"No, you never worked on that weapon here, did you Stark?" Loki looked directly at the man.

"What do you mean? Of course I did. I spent hours in your labs…

"We are well aware of the fact that you spent hours in the labs, but you weren't working on your weapon," Loki accused him.

"Got me there," Stark swallowed hard, stalling for time.

"What exactly _were_ you working on?" Thor asked. "Who gave you that weapon?"

"I gave him the weapon," Fury said. "It was something we'd been working on in one of our labs. I thought he might be able to figure out a way to improve it."

"Improve it?" Loki looked at him suspiciously. "It appears to be a rather dangerous weapon as is. What is there to improve upon? Why do I not believe you?"

"Ha! That's the pot calling the kettle black. Like I should believe you," Fury snorted.

"Listen, this is getting us nowhere. He's not about to tell us anything. He believes his patron is going to save Earth, so we need to move on," Katirya interjected.

"What do you mean '_I believe'_?" Fury asked.

Katirya looked at him. "You've as much as said so yourself. Since you refuse to tell us who it is, and that's most likely because you don't even _know _who it is, we need to move on. The longer we wait, the more time they have to plot against us. Gentlemen," she looked at Loki and Thor, "I believe we need to follow through with the plan we just discussed."

"What plan?" Fury demanded.

"Like we'd tell you." Katirya shook her head.

"The guards shall assist you in returning to your quarters," Loki stated, giving a nod to the guards. Several moved to surround the Avengers group. "You are to remain in your quarters until otherwise instructed. Understand?"

"So, we're you prisoners?" Stark asked.

"If you chose to think of it that way, then yes, although most _prisoners_ are usually confined to our prisons. I would rather not do that right at the moment, unless your actions deem so," Loki replied. He waited for them to leave the room before nodding to his wife.

Katirya sighed after the group had departed. "Now, first things first. Darcy, we need to discuss plans for Jane's funeral."

"It still doesn't seem real, but this past year… things just weren't right with her. Perhaps it was for the best. We plan to name our first girl after Jane," Darcy said with a soft sigh.

"That is a sweet sentiment and tribute for your friend," Katirya replied, then something in Darcy's face made her ask. "Wait. Are you? Pregnant that is?"

Darcy grinned as Ian blushed. "Yes, we are… or rather, I am."

"I'm the father," Ian said proudly.

Fandral slapped Ian heartily on the shoulder. "Good job!"

"Are you planning to get married?" Katirya asked.

"Well," Darcy exchanged a glance with Ian. He nodded. "We have two favors to ask of you." She looked directly at Loki and Katirya as she spoke.

"Two favors?" Loki asked.

"Yes, first we would like to get married here. I love it here, and frankly all my friends are here right now," Darcy glanced around the room at everyone still in the room. She then glanced towards the door through which the Avengers had recently departed. "Even them, or most of them."

"And the second favor?" Katirya asked.

"We'd…" Darcy hesitated, then went on." We'd like to stay here. There are too many bad memories for us on Earth. Here, it is so beautiful, I feel better… happier," Darcy said.

"And whatever she wants, I will support her," Ian added. "Happy wife, happy life my father always said."

Volstagg chuckled. "Indeed. A sentiment I can attest to."

Katirya cocked her head up at her husband. "Well, love. That is your decision. You _are_ the king after all."

Loki chuckled. "Weddings are so much better than planning wars, but I will leave that to you and my mother. So yes, you may marry here. As to your request to remain," he glanced over at Thor, who nodded his agreement. "You may stay as long as you desire. I fear you may find you will miss your home world eventually and wish to return, but if you do not, you will always be welcome here."

Darcy closed her eyes and sighed with relief. "Thank you… thank you very much."

"Speaking of weddings…" Micarian spoke from one corner of the room. He moved to stand next to Sif. "Kiri? I have asked the Lady Sif to marry me. With your permission of course."

"My permission?" Katirya looked confused.

"Well, you are after all, the head of the family being the Queen and all," Micarian replied.

Katirya laughed. "No… no, no, no. I gave you Cartherion to rule as you choose. You do not require my permission. But I am happy for you, brother. Sif? Are you certain you desire to marry this one?" She grinned as she asked the question.

Sif hesitated a second, then nodded. "Yes."

"You might be sorry," Katirya warned with a laugh. "For I know the trouble Mica can be."

Loki's gaze had been focused on his brother during the last exchange. He saw the surprise register on Thor's face at Sif's ready acceptance of marriage to Katirya's brother. Thor was quick to hide it, but Loki had seen it. He filed that away to talk to his wife about later. He turned his focus to the couple. "And that means another wedding to plan. Ladies, I shall leave those arrangements to you."


	15. Chapter 15: Stratagem

Chapter 15: Stratagem 

"Well, this is an interesting turn of events. Two weddings," Katirya glanced quickly at the two couples, then continued. "They shall be quite fun to plan, but first we must attend to Jane Foster."

"Indeed. Tomorrow morning?" Loki asked, looking at his brother.

"Yes, please. I… I believe that would be best," Thor spoke quietly.

"And what of them?" Micarian asked, looking pointedly at the door through which Fury and the others had recently departed. "We need to discuss that situation."

"Yes, I suppose we cannot put that off much longer, but I am uncertain how to proceed. If they were expected to fail, would we really have waged war against Earth?" Loki asked.

"No. They are behind us in terms of technology, despite Stark's weapon. That was clearly not something of his invention," Thor pointed out. "So, given that, I think they might have expected us to exact some form of punishment, but I don't think a war would be the answer."

"I agree," Katirya replied. "I think whoever is behind this knew that they would most likely fail, if not completely, at least in part. I think they hoped there might have been some success, but we were fortunate there to contain the damage."

"If we assume this to be correct, then they must expect us to do something," Thor stated. "Would simply imprisoning them be sufficient?"

"I think you ought to send them back to Earth with their tails between their legs. They failed. Let whoever is behind this mete out the punishment," Micarian suggested.

Loki, Katirya, and Thor exchanged a glance.

"He has a point," Thor admitted. "If we were to send them back to Earth, Fury would have to face this person with nothing to show for his efforts."

"I would not envy him. I doubt it will be death," Loki replied, thinking back to his experiences with Thanos. "Do they truly deserve that? Agreed, they did try to kidnap our children, but…"

"I think letting the twins deal with them would be worse," Katirya joked, adding a bit of levity to the conversation. "But all joking aside, I do not think this… _person_… would do anything so rash as to kill them, especially if we are correct and they expected them to fail, right?" When everyone nodded their agreement with this statement, she went on. "So, we need to figure out how to lure this person out. They clearly expected some type of retaliation on our part, but what?"

"I have an idea!" Micarian crowed. "We do send them back to Earth like I suggested, but we set a trap and find out who _is _behind all this."

"An excellent thought, but what kind of trap?" Thor replied.

"Well, they want the Gems, right?" Micarian asked. When Loki nodded, he went on. "Somehow we have Kiri go back with the Gems, escorting them, or… maybe in disguise - a guard or something – so they don't know it is her, but she could figure out who it is, then we attack once we have that information. I think the first most likely to lure them out, though."

Loki shrugged. "Something to consider; it does have possibilities but is potentially dangerous. If Kiri goes as herself, that could put the Gems within their reach."

"Until we figure out who we are up against, it is going to continue to be a series of defensive actions. We do need to create some offense; I like the idea of her going in a disguise but what if it doesn't work? What if they do not trust us and see through the ruse?" Thor asked.

"Then they most likely will not show their face and we lose nothing if that happens. We will be right back where we started, not knowing," Loki replied. "Kiri, what are your thoughts since it would be you going?"

"I do like the idea of my going, but we do not have to decide tonight whether it is in disguise or not. We can discuss the pros and cons later. First we must deal with Jane's funeral," Katirya pointed out. She glanced over at Darcy and Ian. "And then there are the weddings to begin planning. We can use the time for these events to consider our options."

Darcy took a deep breath. "Yes, please. While I am sad I have lost my friend, I do not feel she would wish for us, any of us, to wallow in pity. It was an unfortunate series of events that has led to her death," she looked lovingly at Ian, "but I never would have met Ian if it had not happened. Life must continue."

"Sif? Mica?" Kiri focused her attention on them next.

Micarian grinned enthusiastically, wrapping his arm around Sif's waist and pulling her close to him. "Yes, that does give us some time to decide. And I want a queen at my side when I go into battle now that I have found her."

Sif smiled lovingly at her future husband. "I am pleased that you realize that I would indeed go into battle and not remain at home."

"What? Our Sif walk away from a fight? Unheard of!" Volstagg shouted. "I like this man! He understands our Sif."

"Then it is settled. We shall hold the funeral for Jane Foster in the morning, and following that we can begin the preparations for your weddings. Since many people are already here, the sooner the better I would think. It might help to ease the confusion over what has happened this day," Loki pointed out.

"Indeed," Katirya replied.

~o~O~o~

"Something is troubling you, love," Katirya said when they were finally alone in their rooms a short time later.

"Yes, something is off, but I cannot figure out what," Loki replied. "The idea of sending you down to Earth with the Gems seems almost too simplistic."

"Perhaps it might just work because of that. The simplicity might be something he… or she… does not expect," Katirya replied as she undressed.

"He or she?" Loki asked her as he watched her remove her clothes.

Katirya shrugged. "We have no clue, do we?" Slipping on a robe, she began to brush her hair.

"No, we do not, but I must admit I had not considered it to be a _she,_" Loki answered. "But that is the least of our worries. There is still something wrong in all this. Somehow this _person_ knows what we are planning. Do you suppose we have a spy amongst us?"

Katirya inhaled sharply. "A spy? Who?"

Loki sat on their bed; he patted the spot next to him. "You had not thought of that, had you?"

"No, the thought did not occur to me. Friends and family surround us; why would one of them betray us? Perhaps they have merely studied us long enough to be able to predict our actions," she commented as she joined him on the bed.

Loki closed his eyes as he considered her question. "No, I suppose they would not." He slowly opened his eyes. "I still do not like your brother's idea. I fear that would put you in too much danger."

"I think it will work. I do not believe the enemy knows my abilities completely, and what I can do with the Gems," Katirya replied.

"Your abilities? You have some?" Loki teased, only to find him being pelted by a pillow.

Katirya grinned at him. "I have an idea, though."

They spent the next half hour discussing their options, finally selecting a plan. As they settled into bed, Loki ventured his opinion. "It still seems almost too simple, sending you in disguise as a guard. I do not believe our enemy will be so easily fooled. He wants those Gems – badly."

They were lying in their bed; Katirya was resting her head on Loki's chest. "Hmmm," she murmured against his skin as her fingers traveled down his torso. "I agree, but right now _I_ am not fooled. I know what exactly you want." Her eyes looked into his with a sparkle.

"Witch!" Loki rolled her over onto her back.

"Ah, but you love it," Katirya murmured as his lips descended on hers.

~o~O~o~

Loki woke with a start, realizing someone was in their rooms. His mind swept through the options, first ascertaining the children were safe, then he discovered who his intruder was. He smiled to himself.

Glancing at his wife, he noticed she was sleeping soundly, nestled up against him. He brushed the hair from her face and gently placed a soft kiss on her temple. "I've changed my mind," he whispered softly. "Fourteen." He extricated himself from her body; an act he discovered was difficult considering where one of her hands was resting. Finally rising out of bed, he pulled on a robe and padded out of their bedchambers into the main sitting room.

"I hope I did not awaken you," Thor spoke softly. He was sitting in front of the fire, having added some wood so that it was now burning brightly.

"You did, but no matter," Loki walked over to a sideboard and poured them both a glass of wine. He offered one to his brother before sitting down on an adjacent chair. He took a sip of the wine before finally asking. "What brings you here?"

"I am worried. I fear what might happen if we send Kiri alone with the Avengers," Thor replied. He was staring into the flames.

"As am I. Kiri and I were discussing it before we went to sleep," Loki began. The fire hissed, then popped as a log fell off the top.

"Sleep?" Thor arched an eyebrow at his brother, grinning. His eyes darted towards the door to the nursery where Loki's four children slept.

"Well, we did sleep… eventually," Loki admitted. "But we did come up with a plan, ah… before Kiri distracted me." He quickly outlined what they had discussed.

"That is dangerous," Thor said once he had finished. "One or all of us might be killed."

"True, but if we do not act first, I fear all of us might die, and Asgard will be destroyed," Katirya's voice floated into the room. "We must at least try."

Both brothers turned to see her standing in the door.

"I am sorry we woke you," Thor apologized as he rose.

"Time enough for sleep later. Now is the time for action," Katirya replied, joining them near the fire. She picked up her husband's glass and took a sip of the wine.

Thor nodded. "I agree. But I do not think we should act too quickly. Your plan has some sound points, but there are some flaws. We need time to work everything out or I fear one or more of us may lose our lives."

"I would rather die, than permit what will happen if _they_ win," Katirya replied.

"And even if all three of us perish in this, if we save Asgard and destroy our enemy, we will have saved what is most important to us," Loki added.

"So you do admit we might fail? Or that all of us might die?" Thor asked.

Katirya nodded. "Aye, it is a very real possibility, but a risk I am willing to take for my children." Her eyes darted to Loki. "Fourteen now?"

Loki winced. "You heard? I thought you were sleeping."

Thor looked from one to the other, then threw his head back and laughed. "Well, if you are planning on fourteen, brother, then we must win this war!"


	16. Chapter 16: Obsequy

Chapter 16: Obsequy

Fandral entered the Avenger's quarters with trepidation. He knew the news he bore was not going to be well taken.

Fury was pacing the main sitting room as Fandral entered. "Bout time someone showed up!"

"I was not aware that you were waiting for someone," Fandral replied coldly.

"Excuse me, but aren't you having some burial service for Jane Foster today? Of course we were expecting someone!" Fury bellowed.

"Ah, yes. The funeral for Miss Foster, I suppose you would wish to know the details, and that is why I am here. You are to be escorted, under guard of course, to a viewing platform. From there, you may watch the proceedings…"

"_Watch_ the proceedings?" Fury clenched his fists. "God damn you! We expect to be there to say our farewells."

"Director…" Natasha spoke up in a quiet voice.

"Don't director me!" Fury whirled on her. "We were her friends. We belong there!"

"Friends?" Fandral asked. "I believe you have a saying on earth, do you not? One that goes something like, 'With friends such as this, who needs enemies?' Is that not the gist of it?"

Stark bit back a laugh. "Yeah, that's the one. But Jane was our friend."

"Well, your actions have precluded your ability to attend the funeral I am sorry to say. The King has been lenient I feel in permitting you to even remain in these quarters. Accept the ability to view the proceedings with good grace at the very least," Fandral said. Without waiting for an answer, he turned and left the room.

"Who the hell do they think they are?" Fury asked.

"The rulers of Asgard, I would presume," Natasha replied. "This is their world, not ours. Besides, it isn't like there is a body."

"So then why are they going through with this funeral?" Stark asked as he realized Natasha was correct. "No body, what are they going to do? I mean, anyone ever been to an Asgardian funeral before?"

"And what about Darcy, Ian, and Erik?" Steve chimed in. "Why aren't they here with us?"

"Well, seems they are still in the good graces of their _majesties_," Fury replied sarcastically. "They want to live here! Can you believe that?" He started to pace around the room.

"Well, unless they see fit to send us back, it looks like this is where we are going to spend the rest of our lives," Banner spoke up. He had been sitting quietly in the corner, watching the others for some time. He rose and moved into the center of the room. "Director, why didn't you tell us what you were doing? Why didn't you give us a chance to decide for ourselves if we wanted to be a part of this?"

"They were going to kill us, that's their plan. Probably still will." Fury stopped in front of Banner. Lifting a finger, he pointed at the doctor. "You saw what they did to Jane. Just imagine what they are going to do to us."

"How do you know?" Banner asked quietly. "Did your… new friend tell you? And who is he?"

"I don't have to answer to you!" Fury snapped. "But I trust them a lot more than I trust Loki. So far, he's the only one who has tried to destroy Earth. My _friend _is there to help us save it from Loki and the rest of these traitors."

"Be careful who you call traitors," Steve said.

"Why? Are you on their side now?" Fury asked.

"Listen, we need to focus and stop this senseless arguing," Stark broke in. "I suggest we consider how we are going to get out of this? Do you think an apology will work?" He cocked a grin at everyone. "Right, not. Well, we have to figure something out. I personally have no desire to stay here..." his voice trailed off as his eyes caught movement from the back of the room. Katirya was standing there, staring at them.

"How the hell did you get in here?" Barton asked.

"Does it matter?" Katirya replied. "Suffice it to say, it seems I have arrived at an opportune moment. If I am to understand you correctly, you desire to leave Asgard?"

"Yeah, you got that right, lady," Fury sneered. "We aren't too fond of your hospitality."

"Trust me, you are lucky to be alive," Katirya responded. "And quite frankly, I do not believe my husband has any intentions of allowing you to return to Earth. I see no purpose in it myself. You have clearly conspired with our enemy…"

"You got that right, sister," Fury cut her off. "He is going to win you know, one way or another."

"Indeed?" Katirya lifted one eyebrow. "Well, that is still to be seen. As for your fate… you shall be judged according to our customs."

"You have no right!" Fury bellowed.

"We have every right. Your actions were not those of a trusted guest. I do believe the fact that you were invited to come here will play into your account and you might be permitted to return to your home world…"

"_Might be?_ Seriously, who do you think you are?" Fury sneered, stepping closer to her.

"Director," Bruce interjected. "Now might not be the best time to anger her."

Fury whirled to face him. "Are you siding with them?"

Banner shrugged. "Well, I do not wish the _other guy_ to make an appearance, and she is correct, we were invited here. Most guests do not try to kidnap their hosts children and steal objects…"

"Those gems do not belong to her!"

"I never said they did, but the clearly do not belong to the individual who sent you here," Katirya replied quietly.

"What? So you're just gonna collect them and look at them? Come on, I wasn't born yesterday. You planned to use them; in fact, you _have _used them. Right?" Fury accused her.

Katirya took a deep breath before answering. "Yes, I have used them…"

"See!" Fury's flung his arms wide. "I told you. I hope you are all listening. She has used them, and will continue to do so. We already know what her husband is capable of doing, you saw what he did. Imagine what he would do to use with her at his side!"

"Director Fury, I believe you need to calm down. Listen to yourself. I will admit what Loki did was not good, but do you understand _all_ the circumstances? Do you realize this person you are working for is really behind all this? That it is he… or she, that desires the Infinity Stones for themselves? Do you honestly believe that they will simply leave you in peace once they possess the Gems?" Katirya's eyes blazed as her temper flared. "If you think what Loki did was horrible, imagine that ten times over. THAT is what you can expect if you allow whoever is behind this to obtain the Gems."

"Seriously? You expect me to believe you?" Fury scoffed.

"And what guarantee has this individual given you that your precious Earth will be safe? If you believe they will ignore Earth once they command the Gems, you are more the fool than I thought," Katirya replied quietly, reining in her temper finally. "I am sorry. I had hoped to be able to reason with you. We need allies, not enemies, but you have clearly made your choice. Following the funeral, you will be permitted to return to Earth." Katirya turned and glided towards the door.

"Permitted? That's mighty generous of you, your highness," Fury shouted at her retreating back.

Katirya paused, lifting her chin slightly, then shook her head. She turned slowly to face Fury. "Be glad we are permitting this. If you were to answer for your crimes here, your attempt to kidnap our children, your lives would be forfeit. Loki and I have chosen to forgive you based on your ignorance of both our laws and the entire situation. Be careful what you say next."

"Or what? You'll torture me?"

Katirya smiled grimly. "No, I shall leave that for your, ah… _sponsor._ Your friend, as you consider them. Be wary who you place your trust in."

A cadre of royal guards entered the room, stepping between her and the humans. She turned swiftly, and exited the room before Fury could respond. The guards remained standing in the room, staring silently ahead.

"Great, now we get these dudes in here. I wasn't finished!" Fury shouted at the closed door.

"Director, what if she is right? How much do you trust your source?" Natasha asked.

"He promised Earth would be left alone IF we bring him those Stones," Fury replied as he resumed his pacing.

"Nick, we gotta let it go. They caught us with our pants down, so to speak. We failed and they now know we were working with someone else. At least they are going to let us return, maybe we can figure out another way?" Stark reasoned.

Steve stared at the two men. "Are you two insane? We are lucky to be alive after that stunt you pulled. We are fortunate only Jane was killed… and what was up with her? Did your friend give her some extra powers or something?"

Fury shrugged. "I can't answer that. Classified information on a need to know basis, and you do not need to know."

"Great, so you are going to run like a loose cannon and we could end up dead. I love it, maybe if I let the other guy out we might get out of here," Banner remarked.

"Bruce, no," Natasha said. "I don't think that is a good idea. So what is our plan?"

"Well, it seems like our _plan_ has been predetermined by _King_ Loki. I still want to know how he ended up king here."

Bells began to toll throughout the city. The guards moved to the doors, flinging them open. A larger group of palace guards were standing outside with Fandral at the head. "If you would follow me, we shall escort you to your viewing platform."

"Do we have a choice?" Fury asked.

Fandral nodded. "Yes, you do. You may remain in your quarters or attend the funeral. Either way, you will be under guard."

"Well, I for one wish to pay my respects for Jane Foster," Barton spoke up, moving to join the guards outside their room. "Anyone else?"

One by one, each of the Avengers slowly joined him, leaving Fury standing alone in the room. Fury glared as he finally stepped out of the room. "Well, let's go."

~o~O~o~

Katirya sighed softly, pressing closer to Loki's body. She felt his arm wrap around her, comforting her as the funeral procession passed them. They were standing on the edge of the city near the river. A bier bearing Jane's body, had been carried through the streets, finally reaching this location. The guards bearing the bier gently set it down in a boat that was waiting on the river's edge. The rope was cut and the boat was pushed out into the current. It moved slowly at first, then sped up once it caught the swifter waters. At a signal from Loki, a single archer loosed a flaming arrow towards the retreating boat. It landed squarely in the boat, which promptly burst into flames.

"She did not deserve this," Katirya whispered.

"Most do not deserve what they get in life," Loki replied quietly, noticing the glisten of unshed tears in her eyes. He returned his gaze back to the fire for a few moments, then glanced at his brother.

Katirya noticed his look. "He will eventually move on."

Loki nodded. "I know, but he still did love her."

The boat had disappeared from view by now. Loki turned, signaling the end to this part of the funeral. Those who had come to watch, returned back to the city, heading to the Great Hall where a feast had been prepared to celebrate the life and death of Jane Foster. 

**Author's Notes: **_I do apologize for the delay in posting this. I have been rather busy this semester with not one, but two grad classes. I am staring work on my project study, so that has taken up a bit more time. I will also admit that my other current fanfic "The Tenth Realm" has also been interrupting my focus on this story. I assure you that I will be completing this story and continue the series with yet another story – it's been planned out already so there is definitely more to come, just be patient with me. _


	17. Chapter 17: Funereal

Chapter 17: Funereal

The funeral feast was a somber affair. People quietly ate, saying very little. Loki noted that his brother was especially morose. He sighed heavily, knowing that he had not been overly fond of the mortal woman. But his brother had loved her, or at least thought he had loved her. Loki wondered how strong that love really was. He glanced over at his wife, realizing once again how much he loved this woman. Had Thor loved Jane as much as he loved Katirya?

Katirya caught his glance, and smiled at him, knowing full well what he was thinking. She lightly touched Loki's arm. "I do not know, only Thor knows."

"How did…?" Loki's voice trailed off, realizing she was so attuned to him that she could understand his thoughts, or even read them if she so wished. He shook his head. "Never mind. What do we do? There is more than just Jane's death going on I think."

"I believe you are correct," Katirya darted a quick glance over towards where her brother sat with his bride to be. Sif was smiling up happily at Micarian. "I think he is unhappy that Sif is marrying someone. I think he always believed she would be there for him. He was fully aware of the fact that Jane's life was so much shorter than his."

"Do you really think he would have expected Sif to wait for him?" Loki asked.

Katirya laughed softly. "Yes, indeed. Even though that expectation was great, I think he always felt she was there. He took her for granted."

Loki reflected on his brother's interactions with the Lady Sif. They'd known each other for hundreds of years. Even when Odin had pointed out that Sif was a far better choice than Jane, Thor had treated her as one of his men, not a woman. Sif was blossoming under the attentions of Katirya's brother. "I wonder if she will still insist on fighting should it come to a war?"

"Sif? Not fight?" Katirya shook her head. "No, she is a strong woman. I pity my brother in some respects."

"So, what do we do with Thor? I fear he is going to drown in his cup if he gets any sadder," Loki returned the topic back to his brother.

"Shall I go speak with him?" Katirya asked.

Loki simply nodded. Katirya rose gracefully from the table.

Thor sat staring into his mug, his drink untouched. Sadness overwhelmed him.

"It was not your fault." Katirya sat down next to him.

Thor sighed. "I know, but I still feel guilt… what if…"

"I expect you always will, but she would not wish you to blame yourself. That much I do know. And do not try to think what might have happened if things had gone differently. We cannot go back and change the past," Katirya replied gently. "Now, staring into that drink is not going to bring her back, nothing will. You must face that fact and move on."

Thor's head dropped, his chin almost touching his chest as his long, blond hair fell to cover his face. Katirya reached out, brushing his hair off his face. "Today is a celebration of her life. Tomorrow we begin to prepare for other events. And… we need your help. You cannot desert us now."

Thor took a deep breath. "I have promised to help, though I am worried that this plan will fail."

"It will only fail if we think it will!" Katirya snapped. "If you go in with that attitude, it will surely fail. I need to know I can depend on you."

Thor heard the anger in her voice; raising his head, he stared into her eyes – seeing the anger she felt reflected there. He was startled, not expecting such hatred. "Kiri?"

"Yes, I am angry. I am angry at what this… this monster has done to us, to our lives!" Katirya's eye flashed. "I want to see him… or her, destroyed before they can do any more harm to those I love."

Thor sat up, looking directly at her.

"If you cannot commit one hundred percent to this plan, then we may as well not even try. We need everyone on board," Katirya's voice dropped to a quiet, but menacing tone.

"I… will try," Thor finally said.

"Try is not enough." Katirya stood and walked away abruptly, leaving Thor staring at her retreating back. He considered her words. It was hard to believe Jane was dead, but then, in many ways she had been dead to him for the past three years. She had ignored him, avoided him, even though he had tried to get close to her.

He pounded his fist into the table, causing his mug to go crashing. Glass shattered as it hit the floor, capturing the attention of those near him. He glared at them, daring them to say anything. No one did. Briefly he wondered if they did so out of respect or fear, then decided it really did not matter. Rising, he stalked out of the room.

Katirya rejoined her husband.

"Well, that seemed very successful," Loki said, a mocking tone to his voice.

"Do not start with me," Katirya's eyes were flashing.

"Few are those who would dare to cross my brother when he is in one of his moods," Loki pulled her down to sit on his lap. "Now, what was the problem?"

"Other than he blames himself for Jane's death? And feels our plan shall fail?" Katirya shrugged. "Nothing."

"Fail? He truly thinks we shall fail?" Loki asked.

"Yes," Katirya replied quietly. "We need to consider that in our plans. I had hoped Jane's death might spur a bit of anger out of him, but…"

"He still blames himself. I know," Loki finished her thought. "Well, we shall work on that aspect. Now," he glanced around the hall. "it would seem our guests are done with their meal, shall we retire to our chambers and allow them to get on with the evening?"

Katirya nodded, slipping off his lap she pulled him up. "Let us retire for the evening, we have much to discuss."

Loki looked down at her. "Discuss? Do you think that is all I have planned for the evening?"

**Author's Note: **_I do apologize for taking so long for this update. Life does tend to get in the way sometimes. A short chapter, but there is more to come, enjoy!_


	18. Chapter 18: Concealed

**Author's Note: **_So sorry it has been such a long time since my last update to this story. Real life has just been getting in the way. Hope you enjoy. _

Chapter 18: Concealed

Thor burst into his brother's chambers early the next morning. A quick scan of the room was all he needed to realize Loki wasn't in the main room. "LOKI?" his voice boomed, startling the servants.

He strode towards the bedchambers.

Guessing Thor's intentions, one servant race after him. "My lord, please!" one servant begged him. "They have not called for us yet."

Thor shook him off, pushed open the doors, and entered the bedroom. "Loki!"

Loki rolled over to face his brother. His eyes danced mischievously. "You were expecting someone else?"

A giggle erupted from the bedcovers Loki had just vacated.

Thor's face reddened as he realized that his brother _had_ been awake, and likely participating in some activity that involved his wife. "I… I'm…"

"Sorry to interrupt?" Loki finished for him, grinning broadly at his brother.

Thor's mouth opened and closed several times. "I… I mean… I guess I didn't realize…"

Katirya's head appeared from under the bedcovers. She laughed softly. "Trust me, Thor. You are not the first to, ah – interrupt us."

Thor's face turned redder. "Well, I…." the door behind him burst open before he could finish.

"My lord, I am so sorry. We tried to stop him," Iarni, Loki's manservant apologized.

Loki waved him off. "It is not your fault. I doubt you could have stopped him even if you tried." He rose out of the bed, confirming Thor's notion that he had been up to something other than sleeping, considering he was naked.

Iarni's gaze swept the room until he spied Loki's robe. Retrieving it, he handed it to Loki who slowly put it on.

Katirya laughed. "That is an understatement." She sat up in the bed, the sheets barely covering her. She started to say something else but stopped as the doors flew open once again.

"I told you Uncle Thor was here!" Sverre crowed.

"I don't care. Mother! Sverre hit me for no reason!" Aud stormed into the room behind her twin brother.

"I did not! I mean, I did hit you, but I had a good reason. You stole my toy," Sverre raced to the bed and jumped up on it next to his mother.

"Did not!" Aud countered, glaring at him. She reached the edge of the bed and attempted to grab her brother.

"Did too!" Sverre growled, skittering to the other side of the bed.

"Enough!" Katirya looked over the heads of the twins at Thor. "As I was saying, you are obviously not the first to interrupt. Now, children, you will apologize to your uncle and…"

"But mother," Aud whined. "He hit me." She glared at her brother who stuck his tongue out in reply.

Katirya sighed and darted a glance at Loki. "And you want how many?"

Loki grinned. "Oh, at least twelve." He leaned over and kissed his wife.

"Fine, then you deal with these two this morning."

Thor cleared his throat.

Loki turned his attention back to his brother. "Ah, right. You were the first to interrupt; therefore you take precedence. Now, what was so important that it could not wait until breakfast?"

"I think I know where the sixth stone might be!" Thor announced.

Katirya shot a glance at Loki, then looked at Thor. "Where? And… how did you find it?" She rose.

When Thor realized Katirya was completely naked, he averted his eyes, looking at the twins. Katirya's laugh caused his blush to return full force.

"Really, Thor. One would think you have never seen a woman naked before," Katirya teased, reminding him of an earlier escapade he'd experienced. "But you can turn around now."

Thor looked back seeing that Katirya had put on her robe. She was walking towards the twins who were still on the bed. Aud grabbed a pillow and hurled it at Sverre.

"Enough!" Loki's voice was stern.

The twins stopped immediately, rarely hearing their father reprimand them. Realizing he was not happy with their behavior, they scuttled to hide behind Katirya.

"You two ought to know better than to argue over a toy," she nudged the children towards the door. "Now go get dressed and prepare for breakfast."

Seeing a chance to escape, they raced out the door.

"Iarni, could you see to that breakfast? Advise them we will be down shortly."

Iarni, relieved that he was not going to be blamed for any of the interruptions, nodded and exited the room.

"Now, brother. Do tell. Where is the last stone?" Loki asked. He padded over to a small table and sat down, inviting Thor to join him.

Thor sat, watching as Katirya left the room. "Should I wait for Kiri?"

"She can still hear us while she dresses," Loki replied.

"Indeed," Katirya's voice rang out. "I shall only be a moment if you wouldn't mind waiting."

Loki shrugged. "I guess we need to wait."

Katirya appeared after a few minutes, fully dressed. She sat at the table. "Now, do tell."

"Well, I was thinking about it. The Aether was hidden for centuries until Jane Foster discovered it. Then another was in Cartherion for almost as long."

"Longer, most likely," Katirya corrected.

Thor nodded. "Perhaps. Two were hidden on Earth. The Tessearct, I'm guessing that it was found by the same individual who had the Mind Stone and used it trying to start a war."

Loki shifted uncomfortably for a moment until he realized that his brother wasn't blaming him for that incident.

"We found the other one on Earth, so I'm guessing the last one is not on Earth, that would be too many in one place," Thor continued. "Given that two were placed within cultures – the Dark Elves originally were using the Aether and Kiri's home world was using the Cronuth, it stands to reason that the last Stone was likely placed with a culture."

"But, that last Stone, the one we are missing, is perhaps the most dangerous of them. Do you think whoever hid them would have placed it with a group of people? Who would they have trusted?" Katirya asked.

"I considered that, and my only conclusion would be either with the Light elves or the Vanir. If you think about it, Midgard had two, Svartalfheim had one,"

"Or they found the one," Loki interrupted.

"I agree with that thought. I doubt that they would have been trusted with an Infinity Stone. But, we weren't there when it was determined. Perhaps they were once trustworthy?"

Loki snorted. "Highly unlikely."

"Well, either way, they had one. Possibly it was hidden upon their world?" When Loki nodded that it might be possible, Thor went on. "We can rule out Jotunheim, Muspelheim, and Nidavellir, along with Niflheim as Hela would have known if one was there. So that leaves Asgard, Vanaheim, or Alfheim. Now, I determined one was not hidden here as it would have been in the Vaults. Since Cartherion is a part of Vanaheim, that leaves Alfheim as the last logical place to find it."

Loki nodded. "That does make sense. Kiri, what do you think?"

Katirya considered the idea for a minute before replying. "It does. But then, where? And why has it not been found? I would think the Light Elves would have been using it, but there is no sign that they have, is there?"

"No, that is the one problem. It is possible they have not discovered it yet. It appears each of the Stones was hidden at one time. Some were found and used, others such as the Tesseract, remained hidden," Thor replied.

"I wonder if Darcy discovered anything during her time in the library?" Loki asked.

"We shall have to ask her. Until then, at least we have a possible location. First, speaking of Darcy, we do need to arrange the festivities for her marriage as we promised. I was planning on talking to her later this morning, so I can also ask her about this as well," Katirya stated.

At the mention of the wedding, it was Thor's turn to shift uncomfortably. Loki quickly spoke up. "Let us see if breakfast is ready."

Katirya collected the children, and they walked down to the breakfast room. Entering, they discovered they were the first to arrive.

"Well, at least we cannot complain that the food has been picked over this morning," Katirya quipped.

"If you would get up on time, we would not be late, my dear," Loki countered.

"Me? Late?" Katirya looked at him coyly, clearly reminding him about their adventures that had been interrupted earlier that very morning.

Loki laughed and quickly kissed her. "We can always go back," he whispered in her ear.

She was about to reply when Ian and Darcy entered, followed by Erik. "Ah, Darcy. We were just talking about you," Katirya said.

"Me? What did I do?" Darcy asked.

"Nothing bad. We were just discussing the Infinity Stones, and Thor thought he might know where the last Stone might have been hidden," Katirya replied.

"You've found it?" Micarian asked as he entered the room with the Lady Sif.

"No, but we have an idea where it might be," Loki replied. He quickly outlined their earlier conversation.

"That makes sense," Sif stated. "But where would it be? How could we find it?"

"We could use the other Stones," Katirya explained. "But it would help to have a better idea where precisely to look. That's where you come in, Darcy. In your searches in the library, did you come across anything that might help?"

Darcy considered it as she piled her plate with food, and walked to the table before finally speaking. "I might have. I'm trying to recall which books I was reading that discussed the Stones. I can look after breakfast."

"Excellent, after we discuss your wedding and Sif's," Katirya said.

Darcy sighed heavily at that comment.

Katirya looked sharply at the human, recognizing something was wrong. She waited, hoping Darcy would say something.

Darcy finally spoke up. "We really don't want anything grand, I mean," she exchanged a look with Ian. "I know we said we wanted to stay here and all… but…" her voice trailed off.

Katirya thought back to her wedding and realized what the problem probably was. "I have an idea! How about we have a quiet wedding for you and Ian in the gardens, in the morning? Then later we will have the grand celebration that must accompany my brother's wedding. The feasts in the evening will be for both of you."

Darcy sighed in relief. "That would be perfect."

Katirya glanced at Sif. "Sif?"

"Fine by me," Sif replied, glancing at her future husband.

"Splendid. Then after breakfast, we three shall start planning. We only have a few days," Katirya said.

Thor finished his breakfast quickly. "If you do not mind, I need to go to the stables." He left before anyone could stop him.

Katirya looked at Loki. "He is still unhappy with this," she spoke softly.

Loki nodded. "He will have to come to terms with it eventually." He rose, "Mica, Ian, why don't you join me and we can see to preparations for you." He led the two men out of the room, leaving the ladies behind.

"Thank you for understanding," Darcy said. "I just don't feel right having a big, huge celebration. We're not like any royalty or anything."

Katirya laughed. "Perhaps not, but you are our friends, and you have been so helpful through this whole ordeal. Now… about the weddings. First, dresses!"


	19. Chapter 19: Stratagem

Chapter 19: Stratagem

"They are messing with our minds!"

The rest of the Avengers' heads all swiveled to focus on the speaker. Since they had returned from the funeral, it had been silent in their room until this sudden announcement.

"They are up to something, don't you guys get it?" Natasha went on.

"What do you mean?" Steve asked.

"Didn't you listen to a word Katirya said? She came in stating we were stuck here… couldn't leave, that Loki _wouldn't_ let us leave. Then, halfway through that… I dunno what to call it, but her sudden appearance in our room, telling us we couldn't leave, then… she like changed her mind and said we _might_ be able to home. When she finally left, she said we could go back. That is a lot of changes in such a short time," Natasha explained. "You guys just weren't listening."

"She's got a point," Barton conceded. "She did change her mind without talking to her husband. Do you think maybe it was planned all along? To kinda lead us along? It's not like anyone back on Earth can save us."

Steve laughed sarcastically. "Yeah, you have a point there. We are rather dependent on them to let us go."

"Hey, I don't care what their reasoning is, as long as we can go home, I just don't care," Bruce replied.

"I still want to know more about this dude you're working with," Tony asked Fury.

"Nothing more to tell," Fury snapped.

"Really? How do you know he will come through? Save Earth?" Tony asked.

"He promised," Fury replied.

"AH, perfect. He promised. Sorry, but after dealing with _these_ people, I don't believe anyone anymore," Tony stated. "Starting with you!" He jabbed a finger towards Fury. "Sorry, but I'm out of any plans you have anymore. You're on your own as far as I am concerned. And this buddy of yours, this dude you're working with… why doesn't _he_ come rescue us?"

All eyes focused on Fury at this last comment.

Fury stared back at them all, not talking.

"Well? Or maybe you've made it all up? Huh?" Tony taunted him.

"I did not make it up. He can't save us because he doesn't know we are here," Fury finally replied.

"What the hell?" Barton shouted.

"What do you mean he doesn't know we are here?" Steve asked.

Fury shrugged. "I said, he doesn't know we came here."

"He doesn't know we came here?" Tony repeated quietly. "Was this something you just decided? On your own? Without any planning?"

"He told me we had to get the Gems, and then he'd help us. We were invited up here so I figured why the hell not try to get them?" Fury shouted back angrily.

"Wait? He told you that you had to get these Infinity Gems. Do you know nothing about them? Haven't you seen what they can do? Did you forget that Tesseract incident with Loki? Or the stuff that Jane had? Just one of those things are more powerful than all of us combined and you expected us to help you get all of them away from Loki? You and what army?" Tony started pacing back and forth. "I cannot believe you! Seriously, you came up here without thinking this through!"

"I had a plan…"

"A half-baked plan…" Tony started to say.

"Right! Kidnap the kids," Barton interjected. "We all know how _that_ worked out. Another thing you forgot to gather information about, those kids are dangerous. That's why we are stuck in here."

"So, what's he going to do if you don't bring back the Gems?" Steve asked.

"I'll get them, just give me time to figure out how."

"Really? In case you haven't noticed, we are confined to quarters," Tony said, his voice loaded with sarcasm. "And last time I checked, the Gems weren't in this room with us. Unless you've managed to figure out how to move objects through space, we aren't getting them. Not in this lifetime anyway. Sorry pal, but you're on your own from here on out."

"I'm with Stark," Banner added.

"Hey, who cares who is with who, we need to figure out what they want!" Natasha reminded them, bringing them back to her initial topic. "Why the hell would they use us? What do they intend? That's what we need to figure out."

"I don't care what they want with us, as long as they let us go back I will be happy," Bruce spoke quietly.

"Who cares is right. As long as we get home, I don't care why they want to send us home," Tony paused his pacing to stare at Fury. "I'm having nothing to do with S.H.I.E.L.D. after today. Let Loki and his friends deal with your buddy."

"I'm with Stark," Bruce said.

"Me too," several voices echoed his statement.

Fury glared at all of them. "So this was all for nothing? Jane died for nothing?" His voice rose as he continued his tirade. "You're going to let them just trample us? You saw what Loki did the first time he tried to conquer Earth. Now he has five of those Gems, just think what he can do!" He slammed his fist into the table. "We need help, and I agreed to work with…" He bit the next words back, before he revealed who he was working with.

"With whom? Who the hell are you working with?" Tony shouted.

"It doesn't matter. Just accept that this individual is willing to protect Earth from Loki and his goons as long as we help him," Fury replied.

"Sorry, but whoever your friend is, he's using you. Why doesn't he just get the Gems himself?" Natasha asked.

Fury stared at her, not answering.

"Well, I guess that says a lot," Natasha sniggered. "Sorry, but he's not getting my help. I wish we knew when we were returning."

"Soon," Loki spoke up from the doorway.

Everyone whirled to face the door, each one wondering how long Loki had been standing there, what had he heard?

"I anticipate you may return within the day. Arrangements are being made." Loki looked pointedly at Natasha. "There is no ulterior motive for sending you back other than to not have to keep you until you die. While that is a short time, compared to our lives, I have no desire to deal with you any further. You can go back and do what you wish; whether you help Fury's friend as best you are able or not, that is entirely up to each of you. I wish you and Earth well. Thor will no longer be aiding you in your endeavors. He has agreed to remain here on Asgard… where he belongs. And, we have washed our hands of you. You have proven Earth is not ready to exist in our realms yet."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Fury shouted.

"Simply that you are on your own in dealing with this individual you made your agreement with. You shall have to inform him or her you were unable to secure the Infinity Gems, or anything that would have given leverage towards obtaining them. I think that sums it up, no?" Loki looked at Fury, waiting for his response.

"All I can say is you're going to be sorry you didn't hand them over when you had the chance. He intends to _destroy_ you and Asgard." Fury walked to stand in front of Loki.

Loki stared hard at him for a few seconds, then abruptly turned and left without responding.

Walking through the corridors, he headed back to towards his quarters. Entering, he searched the main room until his eyes landed on his wife.

"That bad?" Katirya asked.

"They suspect, but Fury…"

"Is a fool. Whoever is behind this has no intentions of helping him. You know that," Katirya finished for him.

"I just hope we are making the right choice, sending them back," Loki replied.

Katirya was about to reply when she noticed her brother had entered the room.

"I thought we had decided it was the best course of action," Micarian said, evidently having overhead the last part of their conversation. "If we keep them here, their friend is bound to come after them. If we send them back as failures, they get punished."

Loki hesitated before replying. "Perhaps…"

Katirya looked at her brother. "I'm inclined to agree with Loki. I know we discussed this earlier, but…"

"But, nothing!" Micarian grinned. "Think about it, Loki. If you sent someone to do an errand for you and they failed, you'd be furious, right? They are not going to look beyond that. Trust me on that one. They will be punished for their actions here. I cannot believe they tried to kidnap your children. If you tried to punish them, Earth would turn against us. This way, we get them punished and do not have to dirty our hands to do it!"

"Well, it has been decided; whether it is the best course of action or not, they will be leaving within a day. Now we can focus on these weddings," Katirya clapped her hands together and smiled. "How did things go with Ian today?"

"He is not certain he wants to live here forever," Loki replied.

"I suspected as much. I am certain they will tire of Asgard. Darcy did not say much, but they will want to return eventually. Right now, they need some time," Katirya said, then grinned at her brother. "Wait until you see your bride! The gown is absolutely fabulous, perfect for her!"

"Do tell, sister," Micarian's eye lit up at the thought of his upcoming nuptials.

Katirya shook her head. "Bad luck for you to know. You will see it soon enough. Now, the plans are for a smaller ceremony for Ian and Darcy. We decided to hold it in the gardens in the morning. That gives us time to prepare for your ceremony. Sif said she would like it to be just before sunset."

"That late?" Micarian broke in.

Loki laughed. "You will have to wait until after the feasting to bed her no matter what."

Micarian frowned, causing Loki and Katirya to laugh at him.

"The feast is scheduled to begin immediately following your ceremony," Katirya assured him. "Arrangements have been made, so as long as you gentlemen took care of your details, things shall go smoothly."

"Did you order my favorite dessert?" Micarian asked.

"Of course, now get on with you. Go visit your bride, for you shan't see her at all tomorrow," Katirya chided him.

"What?"

"We have too much to do tomorrow in order to have the wedding the following day," Katirya reminded him. "Then you shall have her for the rest of your lives."

Micarian huffed impatiently. "I suppose if you insist."

"You are the one who wants to marry right away, not me. You could wait," Katirya said.

"No, I will not wait. I must return to Cartherion as soon as possible and I would much rather do it with the Lady Sif than without, so I shall agree to your terms," Micarian conceded. "Now, I shall excuse myself and go find Sif so that I can spend a little time with her until you swoop down and take her away."

Katirya laughed as her brother left the room, then exchanged a glance with her husband.

Loki simply nodded. "I hope this works."

"It has to, or…" Katirya let the thought trail off, knowing Loki knew exactly what she meant.


	20. Chapter 20: Quiet Interlude

**Author's Note: **_I do apologize for not updating this one sooner. I've had this little chapter done for a bit, but never edited. Hang tight as there is a lot more to come! _

Chapter 20: Quiet Interlude

Darcy wandered into the garden and sat down on a bench. A sigh escaped her lips as she looked around. She lifted her head up, staring at the clouds.

Katirya noticed the pensive look as she entered the glade. "What is wrong?" she asked as she approached the human.

Darcy shook her head, a small smile crossing her face. "Nothing… everything… I don't know," she paused for a moment before continuing. "I just can't get over Fury. What is with him?"

Katirya joined her on the bench before replying. "He is not the one at fault. Someone is using him; he just took things into his own hands and well," she shrugged. "His plan failed. Unfortunately, he managed to involve several of your friends as well, and they all have to deal with the consequences."

Darcy laughed. "That's putting it mildly. He's pissed, you know. Doesn't get why all of us aren't being sent back."

"Honestly? He doesn't realize that you, Ian, or even Dr. Selvig had nothing to do with his plan?"

"He figures you are singling him out. Doesn't think it's fair you're letting us stay here. He thinks you should send all of us back."

It was Katirya's turn to laugh. "Well, the last time I checked, I did not see you trying to help him kidnap the twins."

"No way would I ever try to do that! I _know_ better. Those two are like, I dunno, insane." Suddenly realizing she might have insulted Katirya, she clapped a hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

Katirya chuckled. "No offense. I'm their mother, and trust me, I know what those two are like." She paused, looking closely at the other woman before going on. "Enough about Fury and his plan. Your wedding is in two days."

Darcy grinned, patting her still flat belly. "I know. I am excited about that."

"There are still many details to complete, but almost everything is in hand. There is the matter of your gown to attend to. I've made arrangements for a fitting later this morning."

"I can't wait to see it. I was wondering, I mean, I know you guys are mad at Fury, but the others… Is there any way they could stay for the wedding? I mean… if they want to?"

Katirya shook her head. "No, I am afraid not. Loki has already set in motion plans for their return. I feel it is for the best anyway."

Darcy nodded. "I suppose so, I just kinda wish…" her voice trailed off and she shook her head. "No, it's Jane I really wish was here still."

Katirya put her arm around Darcy's shoulders and hugged her. "Come on, let's go look at that gown. Enough dwelling on the past. We cannot change that, so let's look to the future. Now, have you two decided where you want to live? In Asgard itself?"

Darcy shook her head. "We really hadn't thought about it now that you mention it. I… we… ah," she turned to face Katirya. "I mean, we don't have like any Asgardian money to buy anything. How much is a house here?"

Katirya threw back her head and laughed. "That is not any concern of yours. Loki and I were not certain if you preferred to live in the city itself or elsewhere, but whatever your wish is, that is our gift to you."

"Thanks," Darcy replied softly, realizing for the first time the implications of staying on Asgard. "I… would… " she stammered, uncertain how to speak her feelings. Finally, she blurted it out. "Can we go home if we want?"

Katirya nodded. "Loki and I spoke about that. We both felt you might feel a need to return and yes, you may. Just realize it may not be as easy to come back once you do. It will all depend on what happens."

"What happens?" Darcy stared at her. "Do you think this other dude might win?"

Katirya took a deep breath. "The possibility exists. We still do not know who we are up against. Their reaction when Fury returns and they realize what he tried to do… and subsequently failed at, may cause more problems than even we can predict. We know there will be repercussions. It may force them to move sooner, and we have no clue how to prepare."

Darcy digested this information. "So, you're saying that if I… I mean we, Ian and I, decided to go home, we might never be able to come back?"

"That possibility exists," Katirya confirmed. "But, for now, we will hope for the best." She rose, "Now, let's go find Lady Sif and see about your gowns for tomorrow."

"Gowns, wow! I never thought I'd ever get married," Darcy joked as they wandered back into the palace. "So I gotta wear a dress?"

Katirya laughed. "You wore one for my wedding."

"Yeah, but that was a fancy thing and all. Mine's just gonna be in the garden, right?" Darcy asked.

"Yes, in the garden with just a small group attending," Katirya assured her. "But you will still be attending Sif's wedding, and then there is the wedding feast. You'll want to look good for those, right?"

Darcy grinned. "Yeah, was just kidding. I'll wear a dress again, I guess."

They met up with Sif in one of the antechambers. Three women were bustling around with material and tape measures. Sif stood in the middle of it all looking befuddled.

"Sif! What is wrong?" Katirya asked.

"I cannot decide," Sif wailed. "What color? They have brought so many…" She swept her arm towards the piles of materials. "Can't I just wear this?"

"Red, you look fabulous in red. Or…" Katirya eyed Sif's regular armor shaking her head. "No, you may not wear that. Wouldn't do at all. Now, if you wish a similar color, that we can allow."

Sif sighed. "Red then."

The women sighed with relief that a decision had been made. Shuffling through the pile of material, they brought out a piece of deep red silk and held it out for inspection. Sif nodded.

"Now, as to the style, my lady," the head seamstress started to ask.

Sif's face took on a look of utter dismay. Katirya stepped in. Picking up the drawings the ladies had brought in to show Sif, she riffled through them, finally settling on one. "This. This one will do nicely." She held it out.

Sif barely glanced at it. "Yes, that one."

Katirya laughed. "You hardly looked at it, Sif!"

"I don't care what I wear…"

"Wedding jitters?" Frigga's voice came from the doorway.

"I guess, I mean, I do love Mica, but all this fuss is just driving me crazy," Sif replied.

Katirya picked out another drawing, handing it to Darcy. "How about this one for you?"

Darcy looked at the picture and grinned. "I love it! It's perfect!" She walked over to the piles of material. She pulled out a deep blue satin. "How would this look?" She held it up.

Frigga nodded. "Excellent choice, my dear. Now, I believe they just need to measure both of you and we are done here." She darted a quick look at Katirya who nodded back, pleased that they had averted a meltdown from Sif.

While the seamstress measured the two brides, Katirya and Frigga stepped slightly away.

"Are you sure Sif is happy?" Frigga asked.

"Mica will treat her well, I don't fear that. But…" she glanced over briefly at the woman in question. "I do think she still holds a place in her heart for Thor."

"If only he had never met Jane," Frigga said wistfully.

"I believe that was meant to be. Someone, our unknown enemy, has been moving things and controlling things for a longer time than we thought." Katirya shook her head. "I just wish we knew who it was. I almost feel sorry for Fury when he returns to Earth and meets up with his contact."

"Really?" Frigga stared at her. "How can you even consider feeling sorry for him? He tried to kidnap your children."

"Can you blame him for trying to save his world? He has no clue what he is up against… and neither do we, but I feel we are better prepared for this than he is," Katirya replied. "I'm not trying to justify his actions, just understanding what he did and why. I think we would have done the same thing if we were in his place."

"Perhaps. Do we just sit and wait then for the next act against us?" Frigga.

"Unfortunately, yes. Until or unless we can figure it out," Katirya sighed.


	21. Chapter 21: Machinations

**Author's Note: **_I do apologize for taking so long to post this. I hope to get back on track with writing a bit more frequently so I can finish this story and begin the next. _

Chapter 21: Machinations

Loki walked into his chambers, seeing his wife, he moved quickly to her side. Sweeping her into his arms, he kissed her.

"Good morning to you as well," Katirya replied once the kiss was finished. She smiled up at him as he continued to hold her close. "I take it our, ah, _friends, _are returning home?"

"Yes, Thor is seeing to it personally first thing this morning." 

"Thor?" Katirya raised one eyebrow. "Trying to ditch the wedding plans, I suppose."

"Not surprised, are you? I do think it is a good choice, though. It might cause our enemy to move forward," Loki replied.

"Do you think it might?"

Loki shrugged. "We can only hope. But I have a feeling he… or she, won't move fast. They know we haven't a clue who they are. They are still holding all the cards as they say." He hugged her once more, then released her. "Breakfast?"

"Indeed, my lord." She slid her arm through his as they headed towards the breakfast room. "Mustn't keep our guests waiting," she added, knowing that the breakfast room would be filled with all the guests who were arriving for the wedding.

Darcy jumped out of her seat and raced towards the couple the instant they entered the breakfast room. "Oh my god, I thought you'd never get here!"

Katirya laughed. "That bad, is it? What is the problem today?"

"Ah…" Loki hesitated, knowing Darcy's problem most likely dealt with wedding issues.

Katirya slapped him playfully on his arm. "Oh, do go away. You are excused for I know how tedious you find these wedding preparations."

Loki smiled in relief. Bowing, he took his leave of the ladies and moved to his table. Hogun walked over to join him, followed by Fandral and Volstagg. "May we join you?"

"Please. Male company would be most appreciated right now. These weddings… " Loki's voice trailed off. The door burst open and Sif entered with Micarian by her side. Her eyes scanned the assembled people, finally settling upon Katirya. She said something to her companion then made a beeline to where Katirya was seated. Micarian looked around in confusion, clearly not wanting to join the ladies, but not seeing anyone else at first.

Volstagg roared with laughter. "Indeed! Weddings are a fussy matter, are they not? Ho!" he called out to Micarian. "Over here, laddie!"

Fandral chuckled. "Give the ladies their due. They do enjoy all the fancy dresses and decorations. And," he glanced over at the table where Darcy, Sif, and Katirya were huddled, a twinkle in his eye. "I must add I do enjoy seeing that."

"Always the ladies' man," Hogun teased.

Micarian reached their table. "If I may?" he asked politely.

"Do join us. We were just discussing all the uproar these weddings are causing," Loki stated.

Micarian rolled his eyes. "Do not even start!"

Everyone at the table started laughing.

"Seriously, though, it does seem to be such a fuss over a simple ceremony," Micarian continued.

"But, yours is a rather important one," Loki pointed out.

"I suppose," Micarian admitted, then looked around the table. "Where is Thor? I thought he would be here by now. I had a question for him."

"He is escorting Fury and the others back to Earth," Loki replied.

"He is? I would have thought a few guards ought to have been sufficient," Micarian replied.

"Perhaps, but we discussed it this morning. He indicated that he wanted to do it personally," Loki answered.

"I see, well I shall have to seek him out later then," Micarian replied.

"I still don't understand why you had to accompany us?" Stark complained as they arrived on Earth. They were standing on the terrace of Stark tower.

Thor shrugged. "It was my choice."

"Well, at least it gives us a chance to talk. Why the hell is Loki acting all… like he's in charge of everything, King of the Universe?" Stark complained.

"Ant. Boot," Fury mumbled.

"Well, he is the ruler of Asgard," Thor pointed out. "And Asgard has always watched over Earth even if you were unaware of us."

"So that means he can tell us what to do? Obviously you don't know much about us after all your observations. We do what we want," Stark stated plainly.

Thor looked sadly at Stark. "I thought we were friends Tony Stark. We fought together…"

"Against your brother!" Fury interrupted.

"If that is what you choose to believe," Thor conceded.

"What do you mean, _If I choose to believe?_ I was there. I saw it, you saw it, they saw it!" Stark pointed to everyone in the room. "It was your brother we defeated to save Earth."

"I thought you understood…"

"There was nothing to understand! HE attacked us with that army of creeps. If it wasn't for Stark sending that nuke to destroy them, we'd be dead." Fury shouted.

"But the one who was truly responsible still lives, and most likely is the one who has made that deal with you," Thor replied quietly. "Loki was under his control; I thought you knew that."

"That was Loki we fought, not some dude no one has seen!" Fury snarled. "My deal was made with a real person. I _KNOW_ who I am dealing with and they have promised peace for us while you idiots duke it out to see who is really _King of the Universe, _and I'll put my money on him, not Loki."

"You have met this being?" Thor asked. "Who is it?"

"Yeah, and I'm not introducing you. All you and your brother have brought to Earth is war and conflict, so go back and tell Loki to get the hell off my planet. Quit watching us. We can take care of ourselves," Fury shot back.

"You are incapable of taking care of yourselves. You have proved that," Thor retorted.

"Boys!" Natasha interjected. "Let's calm down and discuss this like adults, okay? Thor does have a point; there is someone who is behind all this, right?"

Fury glared at her but did not respond.

"So, if I'm understanding you," Natasha spoke up. "Loki was under the control of this being. And you think he's the one dealing with Fury?"

"Correct," Thor replied. "Whoever this person is, they are attempting to collect all of the Infinity Gems. If they succeed, they will destroy us… and you."

Fury snorted. "Seriously? Is that what you believe? You don't know a thing. He's promised to protect Earth from attack, that's why I'm willing to work with him. What have you offered?"

"You kidnapped Loki's children, what did you expect? An army to protect you?" Thor asked.

"Well, tried to… and that was all his idea. I had nothing to do with it," Stark muttered, correcting Thor's statement. "In fact, right now, I want nothing to do with Fury. So why did you have to include us in this… ah, return to Earth stuff?"

"Yeah, I didn't know what Fury was up to, I thought it was a joke," Barton said.

"A joke? To kidnap the children?" Thor looked at him incredulously. "You went into their room fully armed. I do not find that joking at all."

"Well, they weren't exactly unarmed themselves," Barton reminded him.

Stark laughed, recalling Barton's _escort_ by the children.

"That is not the point. A plan was set in motion to kidnap those children so you could have leverage to obtain the Gems. Just because it did not work is no excuse to claim you did it as a joke."

"Like I said, I wasn't aware of what all Fury was up to…"

"So you follow him blindly while he leads you to death and destruction?" Thor asked.

"Well, when you put it that way…" Stark shrugged. "So if this dude gets these stones, you're certain he'll just wipe us out of existence too?" When Thor nodded, he turned to look at Fury. "So what are the bargaining chips _we_ have to ensure this doesn't happen? Or was that supposed to be the kids?"

"The kids were the key to getting the stones. I thought you got that part. I've made an agreement with them to make sure they do not destroy Earth," Fury replied.

"Right, but what's in it for us? I mean, why save Earth? What good are we to this dude?" Stark asked. "I know he might find me useful, genius that I am. I can invent some pretty cool stuff for him… but other than that, what's in it for him? Why protect Earth?"

"Because he promised," Fury stated.

"And you believed him?" Stark asked. "You know, Thor? On second thought, I think I might be with you on this."

"I'm afraid that cannot be. Loki has decreed we are to have nothing more to do with Midgard and its' troubles. You have made your choice through your actions," Thor replied.

"So, you're just leaving us?" Natasha asked.

Thor nodded.

"HA! See what I said. Loki thinks he is in charge. Well, when he meets up with us next, I hope he is prepared," Fury taunted.

Thor shook his head. "I am sorry." He walked away from the others and looked up to the sky. "Heimdall!" The rainbow effect of the Bifrost whisked him away.

"Well, that was interesting," Barton stated. "So you gonna tell us who we're working for now that he's gone?"

Fury lifted his chin and stared at them. "No."

"So, what was all the fuss about?" Loki asked his wife as they exited the breakfast room.

Katirya laughed. "Darcy wanted to know if it was acceptable to invite the ladies who work in the library to her wedding."

"And Sif?"

"Ah, yes. Lady Sif." Katirya frowned. "She is worried her dress might not be ready on time."

"Why do I not recall all this fuss when we were married?" Loki asked.

Katirya laughed. "How easily you forget!" She glanced down the hallway and noticed Thor was approaching them. "Thor!"

"Brother! Am I glad to see you," Loki grinned. "How did it go?"

Thor shrugged as he fell into step with the couple. "Let us go outside to speak."

Loki nodded, knowing they could easily be overheard here in the hallways. Once they had exited the palace, he glanced at his brother. "So, do tell."

**Author's Note: **_Thank you for continuing to read and review my stories. I enjoy hearing from my readers. Hopefully I can complete this story in the next few weeks as I continue on with this journey. So much more to tell. _


	22. Chapter 22: Consangunuity or not?

**Author's note: **_It's been way too long since I posted a chapter to this story. I thank you for your patience as I have had many things going on that have kept me from writing. Hopefully it will not take so long for the next chapter. _

Chapter 22: Consanguinity … or not?

"Are you really going to through with this, even though you don't know who you're working with?" Natasha asked Fury.

"You heard me. I can, and will, save Earth. They've done nothing to help us." Fury's fist pointed skyward. "All they've done is brought death and destruction. Are you going to let Jane die in vain? We need to fight for ourselves. They have no interest in fighting for us."

"But, like I asked… what's in it for this dude you're working for? Why save us? What good are we to him?" Stark asked again.

"We are a valuable resource and allay," Fury stated smugly.

"Really? And what do you know about the universe? I think our best help in that direction just left. And I think you're making a huge mistake," Tony replied, starting to get riled up. "We know next to nothing about what's out there! Look what happened when Loki invaded New York with those aliens? We didn't stand much of a chance without Thor's help… and mine of course," he added smugly. "Who's going to help us now? Will this dude?"

The others started nodding as Tony ended his tirade.

"He's right," Banner replied quietly.

"You guys don't know what you're talking about. Fine! If you ain't going to help me, there's the door," Fury snarled as he watched them file out of the room. "And don't let it hit you in the back!"

"Oh my god! I can't believe I'm getting married today!" Darcy chattered as she entered the room and sat down to breakfast with Katirya and Sif.

Sif looked up and grinned at her. "I know exactly how you feel. I never expected to ever get married."

Katirya has specifically requested a quiet breakfast with the two brides, remembering her wedding day and knowing a few quiet moments would help them to settle and focus on the coming festivities. It was very early, but that had to be as Darcy's wedding was scheduled for mid-morning. Sif's grand event would happen in the latter part of the day with all the feasting to follow that evening.

"You will be fine. My brother is a wonderful man and will treat you well," Katirya assured her, looking closely at the woman.

"I just… well," Sif stammered a bit before going on, suddenly taken aback. "I just never imagined marrying anyone other than… "she hesitated.

"Thor?" Katirya filled in the blank, a half-smile on her face.

"Yes," Sif frowned. "I don't know. I guess it was never meant to be, although I know Odin wished for our marriage. But after Thor met Jane," she shrugged, "I knew there was no chance for me after that… if there ever was."

Darcy frowned. "I never knew that."

"I really never told anyone before, but I'm sure many knew it," Sif admitted.

"My husband was always rather fond of a marriage between you and his son," Frigga said as she entered the room, picking up on the thread of the conversation quickly. "It is well it is brought out before your marriage. While he wished for the marriage, and obviously, you were aware of it, did you truly want it?"

Sif sat quietly for several minutes, reflecting over the topic. She finally shrugged. "I honestly do not know. I just know that was what he wished for. I mean, Thor was… I mean is, a handsome man, a prince… what girl wouldn't want that? Perhaps I was just going along with it."

Katirya and Frigga exchanged a quick glance before Katirya spoke up. "I was never certain I was going to marry until my mother took me to the city. It was rather a shock to discover that they had always intended for me to marry. I won't say I was happy with their choice of a husband. That was why I escaped and traveled here, hoping to appeal to Odin to marry one of his sons… I honestly did not care which, but in my mind, either one was a better option than what was intended for me." She paused, and sighed. "At least what people expected for you, Sif, was more agreeable."

Sif shook her head. "Kiri, I don't think anyone would wish to marry who your parents had picked."

Katirya laughed. "Indeed. Now, enough of this. If you are happy with your choice, life will give you everything you want. You are both happy, right?"

Darcy's face split into a huge smile. "I know I sure am! Man, I made a good choice when I picked Ian to be our assistant."

Sif smiled. "Yes, Mica is a good man. I enjoy his company and he is willing to accept me as I am."

"Why did you become a warrior? Was it because Odin expected it, or to impress Thor? I mean, I don't mean to be rude, but I know on Earth women will often do things to get the attention of a guy," Darcy asked, recognizing quickly that the other woman was referring to her status as one of the top warriors of Asgard.

Sif's face became somber. "No, it had nothing to do with Thor, although he was quite helpful once he understood my intentions. What started me on that path was that our parents were murdered by some wandering assassins when we were young. Our mother hid my brother and I so we escaped their fate. I decided I would not be defenseless ever again."

"I'm sorry I brought it up," Darcy replied.

"No, you simply did not know. I aspired to be one of the best warriors and it was thus that I came to Asgard. My brother and I were both accepted immediately and were trained. There was never a question about my desire to be trained as a warrior," Sif explained. "I would imagine that is how Odin came to know of me."

Frigga nodded. "Indeed, it was. He saw your abilities on the training fields and was aware of your intelligence: he felt you would make an excellent wife for his son. I don't think he ever thought about it fully, never considering personal choices and feelings."

The ladies were silent following this conversation. Katirya allowed the silence to continue for several minutes, knowing each woman needed to come to terms with their life, especially Sif. She bit her lower lip lightly, wondering if Sif realized her true feelings. She clearly still loved Thor. Frigga caught her eye and shook her head, obviously knowing full well what she had been thinking. She nodded, then broke the silence. "Ladies, we only have a few more minutes before each of you must start your preparations. Sif, are you really planning on coming to Darcy's wedding?"

"I would not miss it," Sif stated.

"Then I will alert my ladies to have everything for you ready in here. No sense racing back to your room to try to get ready," Katirya said. "In fact, I suggest we do all the preparations in here." She looked over at Darcy. "I took the liberty of having your gown brought up here."

Darcy's jaw dropped. "Seriously? I can get dressed in here?"

"As soon as you finish your breakfast, everything is waiting for us in my dressing room. I've asked for a few extra servants to assist us. The children will hopefully remain quiet while we prepare."

Sif laughed. "Right… the twins? Quiet? Highly unlikely."

"We can hope," Katirya chuckled. I did promise them they could attend the feast tonight if, and only if, they behaved today.

"Hope it works," Darcy said with a laugh.

"You and me both!" Katirya responded as she rose. "Now, shall we all get ready?"

"This is going to be so fun!" Darcy jumped up and started dancing on her way to the dressing room.

Two hours later the ladies emerged laughing, each dressed for the first wedding. Loki was seated, holding Runa and talking to Kai. The twins were racing around the room. Katirya smiled warmly at the sight. "Ah, beloved. You look quite content. I take it the twins are behaving?"

Loki looked up. "Yes, they stated that you promised they could attend the feasting tonight if they did…" his eyes scanned the room until he found the two children. "For the most part, they are being good."

"For the most part?" Frigga asked.

"Considering their normal behavior," Loki grinned. He stood and bowed towards the group of ladies. "You each look lovely, are we ready?"

"Indeed we are," Katirya linked her arm through his.

"Oh, Ian sent these for you Darcy," Loki gestured towards a gorgeous bouquet of flowers.

Darcy's eyes widened at the sight of the huge bouquet. "Wow! These are fantastic!" She scooped them up and stuck her nose in the center of the bouquet. "And they smell great!"

Everyone laughed as they began to head towards the gardens. The wedding was a small affair as Darcy and Ian had requested with Erik Selvig being the only representative from Earth. As Loki's party arrived in the garden, he moved to Darcy's side. "I believe I have the honor or escorting the bride?"

Darcy giggled. "You sound so formal!"

"Well, it is a wedding," Erik countered.

Darcy glanced around at the few people who were in attendance. She waved at Edda, one of her friends from the library. Most of the others gathered were servants who had helped her in one way or another during her various stays on Asgard. "Is Mica not coming?" She asked Katirya.

"It's bad luck to see his bride before his wedding," Katirya answered. "Plus, I put him in charge of making sure the Great Hall was prepared for tonight. He will be quite busy."

The ceremony was relatively quick. Thor presided over the ceremony and once the vows were exchanged, he pronounced them man and wife. Ian took advantage of the moment for a long kiss.

As the group broke up, Katirya whispered to Darcy. "Remember, you do not need to be present tonight if you do not wish."

Darcy nodded. "I know, but we do want to celebrate Sif's wedding. We will be there for a bit. Do you need any help for this afternoon?"

"If I do, I have plenty of servants to assist me. You and Ian go enjoy your day!" Katirya shooed them off then moved over to Frigga. "Shall we go check on the Great Hall?"

"I thought you said Mica was inspecting it."

"I did… thus why we need to go check it."


End file.
